Prabhupada: Today is the most auspicious day, 101 years ago, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, he appeared on this day. So Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura is gaura-sakti. Gaura-sakti means empowered, empowered by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He wanted His mission to be broadcast all over the world. He desired:

prthivite ache yata nagaradi-grama
sarvatra pracara haibe mora nama

prthivite, all over the world, as many towns and villages are there, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu predicted that His mission will spread. This prediction was made by Caitanya Mahaprabhu personally five hundred years ago.

So perhaps my Guru Maharaja, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, attempted to fulfill the desire of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. And sometimes in the year 1918, he was brahmacari, and Bhaktivinoda Thakura, his material father, he wanted… Actually, he wanted, Bhaktivinoda Thakura… Of course, everyone wanted. But he wrote one small book, Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Teachings and Precepts of Lord Caitanya, in 1896. And he presented that book to the McGill University in Canada. And he very much desired that the foreigners, especially Americans, would join this movement. That was his desire in 1896. And then, in 1918, my Guru Maharaja started with this mission one institution known as Gaudiya Math. Perhaps some of you know the name, Gaudiya Math. And he was trying to spread this message of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and by chance or by prediction, as you think, I was taken to Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura by one of my friends. I did not want to go there, but he forcibly took me there. Yes. And he ordered me that “You preach the cult of Caitanya Mahaprabhu in English language. This is very much essential.” So on the first meeting he told me like that. That was my first meeting with him. So at that time I was in favor of Gandhi’s movement. So I said that “We are not independent — subjugated. Who will hear about our message?” So Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura refuted my argument. I was very much pleased. I had so many talks. But I was very much pleased to be defeated, that “This so-called nationalism or any ism, they are all temporary. Real need is the self-realization.”

So I was convinced. But at that time, although he wanted me to immediately join him and spread this movement, so at that time I was a married man, young man. I was married in 1918. And I got a son also at that time, 1921. And in 1922 I met him. At that time I was manager in a big chemical factory. So I thought that “I am married man. I have got so many responsibilities. How I can join immediately? It is not my duty.” Of course, that was my mistake. I should have joined immediately. (laughter) I should have taken the opportunity immediately. But maya is there. So I thought like that. So that’s a long history. Then in 1954, no, not 1954, 1968, when I was fifty-four years old… Nineteen fifty-four, yes. Nineteen fifty-four, I was at that time fifty-eight years. So I left home, and I was living alone. Then, 1958, I took sannyasa, and then I decided to take up the responsibility of my Guru Maharaja. I thought that “My other Godbrothers are trying, so I am not capable to do it. They are better situated.” But somehow or other, they could not do very much, appreciative activities, in this connection.

So when I was seventy years old I decided, “Now I must do and execute the order of my Guru Maharaja. And thus this movement was started in 1965 from New York. And I was not very much hopeful because it is very difficult task, just opposite the European and Western culture. I came… When I first came, I had no money. So I got a free passage through some Indian steam navigation company. So I came by ship. So when I was on the ship at Boston port, Commonwealth port, I was thinking that “I have come here. I do not know what is the purpose because how the people will accept this movement? They are differently educated, and as soon as I will say, ‘So, my dear sir, you have to give up meat-eating and illicit sex and no intoxication and gambling,’ they will say, ‘Please go home.’ ” (laughter) Because that was the experience of one of my Godbrother. He went to London, and he had the opportunity to talk with one big man, Marquis of Zetland. Marquis of Zetland was formerly governor of Bengal. At that time I was student. He was Scotsman, and I was student of the Scottish Churches’ College. So he came to see our college, and he was standing in front of me in the second-year class. So he was very nice, good gentleman. So he proposed to my Godbrother, “Whether you can make me a brahmana?” So my Godbrother proposed, “Yes, we can make anyone brahmana provided you follow this principle: no illicit sex, no intoxication, no meat-eating, no gambling.” So that Lord Zetland immediately replied, “Impossible.” (laughter) So I was thinking that “I will propose something which is impossible. Anyway, let me try.”

Devotees: Jaya! Haribol!

Prabhupada: So now, by the grace of Krsna and Caitanya Mahaprabhu and in the presence of my Guru Maharaja, you are so nice boys and girls. So in front of Caitanya Mahaprabhu you are chanting Hare Krsna mantra, and you are taking part in it very seriously. So my Guru Maharaja will be very, very much pleased upon you and bless you with all benefits.

So he wanted this, and he is not… It is not that he is dead and gone. That is not spiritual understanding. Even ordinary living being, he does not die. Na hanyate hanyamane sarire [Bg. 2.20]. And what to speak of such exalted, authorized personality like Bhaktisiddhanta. He is seeing. I never feel that I am alone. Of course, when I came to your country without any friend, without any means… Practically, just like a vagabond I came. But I had full faith that “My Guru Maharaja is with me.” I never lost this faith, and that is fact. There are two words, vani and vapuh. Vani means words, and vapuh means this physical body. So vani is more important than the vapuh. Vapuh will be finished. This is material body. It will be finished. That is the nature. But if we keep to the vani, to the words of spiritual master, then we remain very fixed up. It doesn’t matter. Just like Bhagavad-gita. It was spoken five thousand years ago. But if you keep to the words of Krsna, then it is always fresh and guiding. Not that because Arjuna personally listened to Krsna about the instruction of Bhagavad-gita, therefore he knew it. That is not the fact. If you accept Bhagavad-gita as it is, then you should know that Krsna is present before you in His words in the Bhagavad-gita. This is called spiritual realization. It is not mundane historical incidences. If we keep…

If you don’t keep in touch with the original link, then it will be lost. And if you keep touch with the original link, then you are directly hearing Krsna. Similarly, Krsna and Krsna’s representative, spiritual master, if you keep always intact, in link with the words and instruction of the superior authorities, then you are always fresh. This is spiritual understanding. Na jayate na mriyate va kadacit nityah sasvato ‘yam purano [Bg. 2.20]. Puranah means very old. Just like Krsna, the Supreme Being. He must be very old because He is the original person. But the Brahma-samhita says, advaita acyuta anadi ananta-rupam adyam purana-purusa nava-yauvanam ca [Bs. 5.33]. Purana-purusa, the oldest person, but you will find Him nava-yauvanam ca, always a fresh youth. That is God. God is not a material, that it gets old. The body gets old.

So you are hearing this philosophy daily. Try to understand more and more. We have got so many books. And this is the mission of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and, by disciplic succession, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, then my spiritual master. Then we are trying our level best. Similarly, you will also try your level best on the same principle. Then it will go on. Same principle. It doesn’t matter whether one is born in India or outside India. No. When Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, prthivite ache yata nagaradi-grama, “As many towns and cities and villages are there,” He did not say it to make a farce. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So sometimes I am very much criticized that I am making foreigners a brahmana. The caste brahmanas in India, they are very much against me. But this is not fact. When Caitanya Mahaprabhu said that all over the world His message will be broadcast, does it mean that it will be simply a cinema show? No. He wanted that everyone should become perfect Vaisnava. That is His purpose. It is not to make a farce, some lecturing and…, or some mutual praising society. No. It is Krishna Society. Everyone who will join this Krishna Society movement, he is more than a brahmana. Brahmana, what is brahmana? Brahmana is also material. A devotee is more than brahmana. The brahminical culture is included already. Brahma janatiti brahmanah: “Brahmana means one who knows the Absolute Truth, Brahman.” He is brahmana. But that is not very fixed up. Brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti sabdyate [SB 1.2.11]. Brahman is impersonal effulgence, and then further progress, realization of the localized aspect, Paramatma, Antaryami, and finally, understanding the Supreme Person, Krsna, Supreme Person, that is the final understanding.

So people cannot understand that how the Supreme, the origin of everything, can be a person. That is their difficulty. Because they are thinking, “A person, God? How it is possible. God is great, and He is the creator of everything. How a person can do that?” Yes. That is the Vedic version.

He is the cause of Brahman. He is the cause of Supersoul. So ordinary man cannot understand. Avajananti mam mudha manusim tanum asritam [Bg. 9.11]. It requires Krsna’s grace to understand Him.

So try to receive Krsna’s grace through the disciplic succession, Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Then you will understand everything. Yasya deve para bhaktir yatha deve tatha gurau [SU 6.23]. This is the process, Vedic process. One should have unflinching faith in God and spiritual master. Don’t jump over God, crossing the spiritual master. Then it will be failure. You must go through. We are observing Vyasa-puja ceremony, the birth anniversary of our Guru Maharaja. Why? We cannot understand Krsna without spiritual master. That is bogus. If anyone wants to understand Krsna, jumping over the spiritual master, then immediately he becomes a bogus. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, guru-krsna-krpaya paya bhakti-lata-bija [Cc. Madhya 19.151]. That is Vedic injunction. Tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya [Bg. 4.34]. Nobody can understand Krsna without going through His most confidential servant. This is the meaning of this Vyasa-puja. You cannot surpass. If you think that you have become very learned and very advanced, now you can avoid the spiritual master and you understand Krsna, that is the bogus. That is the meaning of this Vyasa-puja ceremony. We should always pray, yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasadah **. Yasya prasadad, only by the grace of spiritual master we can achieve the grace or mercy of Krsna. This is the meaning of this Vyasa-puja, offering obeisances by parampara system.

So you have taken a very nice line of activities, spiritual activities. Of course, as far as possible, we have tried to give you instruction, books. But remain always faithful to the spiritual master and try to understand Krsna. And if you simply understand Krsna, then your life is successful. Janma karma ca divyam me yo janati tattvatah. The human life is meant for understanding Krsna. That is the perfection of life. Any other so-called understanding, that is simply waste of time because we are under the grip of the material nature. You may be very learned scholar. You may be a fool. It doesn’t matter. You are under the laws of material nature. So before finishing this small span of life… We have got this human form of life. It will be finished, as the cats’ and dogs’ life also finished. But if we try through the guru and Vaisnava, then, we can achieve in this life the full success, not failure like cats’ and dogs’ life. That is the opportunity. So as far as possible, we are trying to lead you in this line, and you kindly follow. Then your life will be successful. That is the mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He wanted to deliver these fallen souls, the conditioned souls rotting in this material world. So Krsna Himself… Krsna comes Himself, Krsna sends His devotees, Krsna comes as devotee — just to execute this mission to reclaim the fallen souls from the clutches of illusory energy, material world.

Today marks the appearance day of Lord Nityananda. We honor it with a half day fast and rememberances of Lord Nityananda’s glories and pastimes. The following is a song written by Srila Narottama dasa Thakura with purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

The lotus feet of Sri Nityananda are as cool as millions of moons. The whole universe gets peace by the shade of those lotus feet. Without the mercy of Sri Nityananda, nobody can get Radha and Krishna, the aim of human life. Therefore, catch hold of the two lotus feet of Sri Nityananda Prabhu very tightly.

One who has not established a relationship with Sri Nityananda is a two-legged animal. A great beast! His whole life is finished. He cannot be called a human being. He never utters the name of Sri Nityananda. He is always immersed in enjoying material happiness and has forgotten Sri Nitai. He may have acquired all material scholarship and learning, but what is the value of such education? This will never help.

They are so puffed up with their mundane education and scholarship. They are never humble at all. They have forgotten the lotus feet of Sri Nitai because of their false ego and pride. They are completely under the clutches of Maya. They accept the untruth as truth. If Sri Nityananda showers His mercy upon someone, he will get Sri Sri Radha Krishna in Vrajabhumi. So catch hold of the two lotus feet of Lord Nityananda very tightly.

The lotus feet of Sri Nityananda are eternally true. And those followers or servants of those lotus feet of Sri Nityananda are also eternal. Always aspire for the lotus feet of Sri Nityananda. Srila Narottama dasa Thakura says, “I am very distressed, and an unhappy person. I am drowning in this dreadful ocean of material exis­tence. O Sri Nityananda Prabhu, please make me very happy! Please keep me at Your lotus feet.”

Nitai-pada-kamala, koti-candra-susitala, je chayay jagata juray. This is a song by Narottam das Thakur, a great acharya of the Gaudiya-vaisnava-sampradaya. He has written many songs about the Vaisnava philosophy, and they are approved as completely corresponding with Vedic instructions. So here Narottam das Thakur is singing that “The whole world is suffering under the blazing fire of material existence. Therefore, if one takes the shelter of the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda…,” whose birthday is today, 31st, January, 1969. So we should relish this instruction of Narottam das Thakur that in order to get relief from the pangs of blazing fire of this material existence, one should take shelter of the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda because it is as cooling as the moon rays combined together of millions of moons. That means one will immediately find peaceful atmosphere. Just like a man works whole day and if he comes under the moonshine he feels relief.

Similarly, any materialistic man who comes under the shelter of Lord Nityananda will immediately feel that relief. Then he says,

He says that “If you are anxious to go back to home, back to Godhead, and become associate of Radha and Krishna, then the best policy is to take shelter of Nityananda.” Then he says, se sambandha nahi ja’r, brtha janma gelo ta’r: “One who has not been able to contact Nityananda, then one should think of himself that he has simply spoiled his valuable life.” Brtha janma gelo, brtha means for nothing, and janma means life. Gelo ta’r, spoiled. Because he has not made connection with Nityananda. The Nityananda, very name, suggests… Nitya means eternal. Ananda means pleasure. Material pleasure is not eternal. That is the distinction. Therefore those who are intelligent, they are not interested with this flickering pleasure of material world. Every one of us, as living entity, we are searching after pleasure. But the pleasure which we are seeking, that is flickering, temporary. That is not pleasure. Real pleasure is nityananda, eternal pleasure. So anyone who has no contact with Nityananda, it is to be understood that his life is spoiled.

se sambandha nahi ja’r, brtha janma gelo ta’r,
sei pasu boro duracar

Narottam das Thakur uses here very harsh word. He says that such human being is an animal, an uncontrollable animal. As there are some animals that cannot be tamed, so anyone who has not contacted Nityananda, he should be considered as an untamed animal. Sei pasu boro duracar. Why? Because nitai na bolilo mukhe: “He never uttered the holy name of Nityananda.” And majilo samsara-sukhe, “and become merged into this material happiness.” Vidya-kule ki koribe tar. “That nonsense does not know that what will his education and family and tradition and nationality will help him?” These things cannot help him. These are all temporary things. Simply, if we want eternal pleasure, we must contact Nityananda. Vidya-kule ki koribe tar. Vidya means education, and kula means family, nationality. So we may have a very nice family connection or we may have very nice national prestige, but after ending this body, these things will not help me. I’ll carry my work with me, and according to that work, I shall have to accept by force another type of body. It may be something other than human body. So these things cannot protect us or give us the real pleasure. So Narottam das Thakur advises that vidya-kule ki koribe tar. Then he says, ahankare matta hoiya. “Being maddened after false prestige and identification…” False identification with the body and prestige of bodily relationship, it is called ahankare matta hoiya. One is mad after this false prestige. Ahankare matta hoiya, nitai-pada pasariya. Due to this false prestige we are thinking, “Oh, what is Nityananda? What can He do for me? I don’t care.” So these are the signs of false prestige. Ahankare matta hoiya, nitai-pada pasa…, asatyere satya kori mani. The result is that I am accepting something which is false. For example, I am accepting this body. This body, I am not this body. Therefore, with false identification I am becoming entangled more and more. So one who is puffed up with this false prestige, ahankare matta hoiya, nitai-pada pa…, asatyere satya kori mani, he accepts something wrong as right. Then he says, nitaiyer koruna habe, braje radha-krishna pabe. If you are actually serious about going back to home, back to Godhead, then please seek after the mercy of Nityananda. Ahankare…

“Please catch up the lotus feet of Nityananda.” Then he says, nitaiyer carana satya. One may think that as we catch hold of so many shelter, but in this material world later on they prove false, similarly, suppose we catch hold of the lotus feet of Nityananda; it may also prove false. But Narottam das Thakur assures that nitaiyer carana satya: “It is not false. Because Nityananda is eternal, His lotus feet is also eternal.” Tanhara sevaka nitya. And anyone who takes to the service of Nityananda, they also become eternal. Without being eternal, nobody can serve the eternal. That is the Vedic injunction. Without becoming Brahman, one cannot approach the Supreme Brahman. Just like without being fire, nobody can enter into the fire. Without being water, nobody can enter into the water. Similarly, without being fully spiritualized, nobody can enter into the spiritual kingdom. So nitaiyer carana satya. If you catch nitaiyer, the lotus feet of Nityananda, then you become immediately spiritualized. Just like if you touch electricity, immediately you become electrified. That is natural. Similarly, Nityananda is eternal happiness, if you touch Nityananda some way or other, then you become also eternally happy. Tanhara sevaka nitya. Therefore one who has in contact with Nityananda, they have become eternal.

So just catch Him very tightly. Narottam boro duhkhi, nitai more koro sukhi. At the last Narottam das Thakur, the composer of this song, he is appealing to Nityananda, “My dear Lord, I am very unhappy. So You please make me happy. And You kindly keep me in corner of Your lotus feet.” That is the sum and substance of this song. (end)

So gradually the author is offering respect, sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu-nityananda sri-advaita. He has already offered respect to Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda. Now it is the turn for Sri Advaitacarya. So advaitam, nondifferent, expansion of Mahavisnu. Therefore He is Visnu-tattva. He is not jiva-tattva. Therefore, he is Advaita.

Advaita acyuta anadi ananta-rupam. Krsna has got unlimited number of expansions, expansion, expansion of the expansion, then expansion of the expansion, in this way. So Advaitacarya is expansion of Krsna, it is already explained. Therefore He is called advaitam, and acaryam bhakti-samsanat. This is the business of acarya, to spread bhakti cult. Acaryam mam vijaniyat navamanyeta karhicit. It is said by the Lord that “You should accept the acarya…” Acarya means one who transmits bhakti cult. Bhakti-samsanat, spreading, gosthy-anandi.

One who is not spreading he is cultivating Krsna consciousness for his personal benefit in a secluded place, sitting and chanting that is also nice, but he’s not acarya. Acarya means he must spread, Gosthy-anandi.

Bhajananandi, gosthy-anandi. So generally, gosthy-anandi means one who wants to increase the number of devotees. He’s called gosthy-anandi. And one who is self-satisfied, that “Let me do my own duty”, he is called bhajananandi. So my Guru Maharaja, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, he was gosthy-anandi; he wanted to increase the number of devotees. And the more you increase the number of devotees, the more you become very much recognized by Krsna. It is Krsna’s business. Krsna personally comes as He is, Krsna, to spread this bhakti cult. Man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru. Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja. He’s canvassing personally. Paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam, dharmasamstha-panarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge. So same thing entrusted to another devotee, and who spreads, he’s acarya. So Krsna says, the acarya. Here it is said, that advaita harina advaitad. So, of course Advaita Acarya is expansion of Visnu-tattva, but any acarya, he is to be considered identical with the Lord. The Lord says that, that acaryam mam vijaniyat. “One should understand the acarya.” Acarya bhakti-samsanat. Acarya means who is spreading pure bhakti cult. “That acarya”, Krsna says, “you should consider such acarya as Myself”.

Acaryam mam vijaniyat navamanyeta karhicit, that… You cannot consider, “Yes, he’s acarya, but not as good as Krsna”. No. Na avamanyeta. Don’t deride in that way. Then there will be falldown. Acaryam mam vijaniyat navamanyeta karhicit. And in the Vedas also it is said, yasya deve para bhaktir yatha deve tatha gurau: “Anyone who has got unflinching faith in the Supreme Personality and the similar faith in guru.” Yasya deve para bhaktir yatha deve tatha gurau, tasyaite kathita hy arthah: “All the Vedic literature”, prakasante, “becomes revealed simply by these two principle”.

Guru krsna krpapaya bhakti lata bija. We should not jump over Krsna without the help of guru. That is not possible. You must go through. Because Krsna says, acaryam mam vijani. Tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasuh sreya uttamam: “Actually one who is serious to understand higher transcendental subject matter, he must approach guru.” Tasmad gurum, prapadyeta. These are Vedic injunctions. Caksudana dilo yei, janme janme pita sei. So anyone who opens… Guru means who opens the eyes of the ignorant person. Ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya. Opening the eyes by giving real knowledge.Guru krsna krpapaya bhakti lata bija. So bhakti-lata, the devotional service, the seed of devotional service, can be received by the parampara system through bona fide spiritual master. And if we abide by the orders of spiritual master faithfully, then Krsna becomes pleased. That is stated by Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasadah. Ara na koriya mane asa. Narottama dasa. All the acaryas they say like that.

Acaryam mam vijaniyat. Acaryavan puruso veda: “One who has accepted acarya, he knows things are they are.” Others, they do not know. It is not possible. So Advaita Acarya is the typical example, how to become acarya. All are our acaryas, sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu nityananda, sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrnda. All of them are acaryas because they are following the acarya, Supreme Acarya, Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Therefore they are acarya. evam parampara-praptam imam rajarsayo viduh. So we have to follow the acarya. Then, when we are completely, cent per cent follower of acarya, then you can also act as acarya. This is the process. Don’t become premature acarya. First of all follow the orders of acarya, and you become mature. Then it is better to become acarya. Because we are interested in preparing acarya, but the etiquette is, at least for the period the guru is present, one should not become acarya.

Even if he is complete, he should not, because the etiquette is, if somebody comes for becoming initiated, it is the duty of such person to bring that prospective candidate to his acarya, not that “Now people are coming to me, so I can become acarya”. That is avamanya. Navamanyeta karhicit. Don’t transgress this etiquette. Navamanyeta. That will be fall down. Just like during the lifetime of our Guru Maharaja, all our godbrothers now who are acting as acarya, they did not do so. That is not etiquette. Acaryam mam vijaniyat na avaman… That is insult. So if you insult your acarya, then you are finished. Yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasado yasya aprasadat na gatih kuto ‘pi finished. If you displease your acarya, then you are finished. Therefore it is said, Caitanya Mahaprabhu says to all the acaryas. Nityananda Prabhu, Advaita Prabhu and Srivasadi-gaur-bhakta-vrnda, they are all carriers of orders of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

So try to follow the path of acarya process. Then life will be successful. And to become acarya is not very difficult. First of all, to become very faithful servant of your acarya, follow strictly what he says, try to please him and spread Krsna consciousness. That’s all. It is not at all difficult. Try to follow the instruction of your guru maharaja and spread Krsna consciousness. That is the order of Lord Caitanya. Amara ajnaya guru hana tara ei desa, yare dekha tare kaha krsna-upadesa: “By following My order, you become guru.” And if we strictly follow the acarya system and try our best to spread the instruction of Krsna. Yare dekha tare kaha krsna-upadesa. There are two kinds of krsna-upadesa. Upadesa means instruction. Instruction given by Krsna, that is also krsna-upadesa, and instruction received about Krsna, that is also krsna-upadesa. Krsnasya upadesa iti krsna upadesa. Samasa, sasti-tat-purusa-samasa. And Krsna visaya upadesa, that is also Krsna upadesa. Bahu-vrihi-samasa.

This is the way of analyzing Sanskrit grammar. So Krsna’s upadesa is Bhagavad-gita. He’s directly giving instruction. So one who is spreading Krsna-upadesa, simply repeat what is said by Krsna. Then you become acarya. Not difficult at all. Everything is stated there. We have to simply repeat like parrot. Not exactly parrot. Parrot does not understand the meaning; he simply vibrates. But you should understand the meaning also. Otherwise how you can explain. So, so we want to spread Krsna consciousness. Simply prepare yourself how to repeat Krsna’s instructions very nicely, without any malinterpretation. Then, in future… Suppose you have got now ten thousand. We shall expand to hundred thousand. That is required. Then hundred thousand to million, and million to ten million.

Devotees: Jaya!

Prabhupada: So there will be no scarcity of acarya, and people will understand Krsna consciousness very easily. So make that organization. Don’t be falsely puffed up. Follow the acarya instruction and try to make yourself perfect, mature. Then it will be very easy to fight out maya. Yes. Acaryas, they declare war against maya’s activities, that maya instructing that “here is wine, here is cigarette, here is tha”t, in your country these advertisements are very prominent, holding both ways, wine advertisement, cigarette advertisement, naked woman advertisements, and sometimes gambling also, advertisement. What is that? Congo?

Devotees: Bingo.

Prabhupada: Bingo. (laughter) Yes. So this is maya. And our declaration of war with maya no intoxication, no meat-eating, no bingo (laughter) these are our declaration of war. So we have to fight in that way because nobody can understand Krsna without being free from all sinful activities. These are sinful activities.

Therefore it is acarya’s business to stop these nonsense activities. Otherwise they’ll not be able to understand, especially the meat-eaters. They cannot understand. Nivrtta-tarsair upagiyamanad bhavausadhi chrotra-mano ‘bhiramat, ka uttamasloka-gunanuvadat puman virajyeta vina pasughnat. Unless one is very expert in killing animals, he’s not bereft from Krsna consciousness. That means one who is very expert in killing, he cannot understand. Therefore Christ also said, “Thou shall not kill”, the first business. Nobody will be able if one is a killer of animal, small or big, ultimately killer of his own children, killer of his own self. The killing process is so nice that it goes up to the point of killing one’s children. That is now happening. Killing business has so expanded that they are killing their own children. Just see the influence of Kali-yuga. The children, they take shelter of the father and mother, thinking very safe. Now, in this Kali-yuga, even there is no safety under the care of father and mother. Just see how this material civilization is progressing. Very, very dangerous. Kalau nasta-drsam. Therefore that Bhagavata verse is there, krsnesvadhamopagate dharma-jnanadibhih, kalau nasta-drsam puranarko ‘dhunoditam. Very, very abominable condition in this age of Kali, very, very. It is the beginning of Kali. Now we have to pass through 427,000’s of years. Kali-yuga will make progress in that way. And people are now practicing eating their children, and at the end of Kali there will be no food available.

They’ll… They have to eat the children just like the snakes do. The snake eat their own children. There are many animals; they eat their own children. So don’t try to repeat your birth again and again in this Kali-yuga. It will be not very happy life. Better sacrifice everything in this life and be fully Krsna conscious and go back to home, back to Godhead. Don’t wait for the next life. This is very seriously repeated, that “This life I shall finish my Krsna consciousness business”, and, as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, that Krsna consciousness business means to understand Krsna rightly. And He’s explaining Himself rightly. Where is the difficulty to finish the Krsna consciousness business? If Krsna is explaining Himself, what He is, then where is your difficulty? Krsna is explaining Himself in the Bhagavad-gita, Krsna is sending His representative acarya to teach you and Krsna is within yourself trying to teach you if you are actually serious. Then where is the difficulty? Inside, outside, always, books, knowledge.He is prepared.

So where is the difficulty to make yourself perfect in Krsna consciousness? There is no difficulty at all. Provided you are serious, you can become fully Krsna conscious in this very life. You are all young men. You are not old man like me. I have no opportunity.

This morning as we were reading from the Sri Caianya-caritamrta a sentence jumped out at me and I had to reach for my yellow highlighter pen. We were reading…

…how a brahmacārī should behave under the care of a spiritual master. A spiritual master is not an enjoyer of facilities offered by his disciples. He is like a parent. Without the attentive service of his parents, a child cannot grow to manhood; similarly, without the care of the spiritual master one cannot rise to the plane of transcendental service.

The spiritual master is also called ācārya, or a transcendental professor of spiritual science…

I thought this was very funny and a beautiful description of Srila Prabhupada: A Transcendental Professor

ācāryam—the spiritual master; mām—Myself; vijānīyāt—one should know; na avamanyeta—one should never disrespect; karhicit—at any time; na—never; martya-buddhyā—with the idea of his being an ordinary man; asūyeta—one should be envious; sarva-deva—of all demigods; mayaḥ—representative; guruḥ—the spiritual master.

TRANSLATION

“One should know the ācārya as Myself and never disrespect him in any way. One should not envy him, thinking him an ordinary man, for he is the representative of all the demigods.”

PURPORT

This is a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.17.27) spoken by Lord Kṛṣṇa when He was questioned by Uddhava regarding the four social and spiritual orders of society. He was specifically instructing how a brahmacārī should behave under the care of a spiritual master. A spiritual master is not an enjoyer of facilities offered by his disciples. He is like a parent. Without the attentive service of his parents, a child cannot grow to manhood; similarly, without the care of the spiritual master one cannot rise to the plane of transcendental service.

The spiritual master is also called ācārya, or a transcendental professor of spiritual science. The Manu-saṁhitā (2.140) explains the duties of an ācārya, describing that a bona fide spiritual master accepts charge of disciples, teaches them the Vedic knowledge with all its intricacies, and gives them their second birth. The ceremony performed to initiate a disciple into the study of spiritual science is called upanīti, or the function that brings one nearer to the spiritual master. One who cannot be brought nearer to a spiritual master cannot have a sacred thread, and thus he is indicated to be a śūdra. The sacred thread on the body of a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya or vaiśya is a symbol of initiation by the spiritual master; it is worth nothing if worn merely to boast of high parentage. The duty of the spiritual master is to initiate a disciple with the sacred thread ceremony, and after this saṁskāra, or purificatory process, the spiritual master actually begins to teach the disciple about the Vedas. A person born a śūdra is not barred from such spiritual initiation, provided he is approved by the spiritual master, who is duly authorized to award a disciple the right to be a brāhmaṇa if he finds him perfectly qualified. In the Vāyu Purāṇa an ācārya is defined as one who knows the import of all Vedic literature, explains the purpose of the Vedas, abides by their rules and regulations, and teaches his disciples to act in the same way.

Only out of His immense compassion does the Personality of Godhead reveal Himself as the spiritual master. Therefore in the dealings of an ācārya there are no activities but those of transcendental loving service to the Lord. He is the Supreme Personality of Servitor Godhead. It is worthwhile to take shelter of such a steady devotee, who is called āśraya-vigraha, or the manifestation or form of the Lord of whom one must take shelter.

If one poses himself as an ācārya but does not have an attitude of servitorship to the Lord, he must be considered an offender, and this offensive attitude disqualifies him from being an ācārya. The bona fide spiritual master always engages in unalloyed devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By this test he is known to be a direct manifestation of the Lord and a genuine representative of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. Such a spiritual master is known as ācāryadeva. Influenced by an envious temperament and dissatisfied because of an attitude of sense gratification, mundaners criticize a real ācārya. In fact, however, a bona fide ācārya is nondifferent from the Personality of Godhead, and therefore to envy such an ācārya is to envy the Personality of Godhead Himself. This will produce an effect subversive of transcendental realization.

As mentioned previously, a disciple should always respect the spiritual master as a manifestation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, but at the same time one should always remember that a spiritual master is never authorized to imitate the transcendental pastimes of the Lord. False spiritual masters pose themselves as identical with Śrī Kṛṣṇa in every respect to exploit the sentiments of their disciples, but such impersonalists can only mislead their disciples, for their ultimate aim is to become one with the Lord. This is against the principles of the devotional cult.

The real Vedic philosophy is acintya-bhedābheda-tattva, which establishes everything to be simultaneously one with and different from the Personality of Godhead. Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī confirms that this is the real position of a bona fide spiritual master and says that one should always think of the spiritual master in terms of his intimate relationship with Mukunda (Śrī Kṛṣṇa). Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, in his Bhakti-sandarbha (213), has clearly defined that a pure devotee’s observation of the spiritual master and Lord Śiva as one with the Personality of Godhead exists in terms of their being very dear to the Lord, not identical with Him in all respects. Following in the footsteps of Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī and Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, later ācāryas like Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura have confirmed the same truths. In his prayers to the spiritual master, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura confirms that all the revealed scriptures accept the spiritual master to be identical with the Personality of Godhead because he is a very dear and confidential servant of the Lord. Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas therefore worship Śrīla Gurudeva (the spiritual master) in the light of his being the servitor of the Personality of Godhead. In all the ancient scriptures of devotional service and in the more recent songs of Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura and other unalloyed Vaiṣṇavas, the spiritual master is always considered either one of the confidential associates of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī or a manifested representation of Śrīla Nityānanda Prabhu.

All schemes are only useless scraps of paper in the face of war, famine, earthquakes and other disasters. All these disasters are warnings from Mother Durga, and by them she confirms her eternal superiority over the illusioned planmakers.

[Excerpt from Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Ch 3]

It is the duty of a disciple approaching a spiritual master to inquire about his constitutional position. In conformity to that spiritual process, Sanatana has already asked, “What am I, and why am I suffering from the threefold miseries?”

The threefold miseries are called adhyatmika, adhibhautika, and adhidaivika. The word adhyatmika refers to those miseries caused by the mind and body. Sometimes the living entity suffers bodily, and sometimes he is distressed mentally. Both are adhyatmika miseries. We experience these miseries even in the womb of our mother. As we well know, there are many types of miseries that take advantage of the delicate human body and give us pain. Miseries inflicted by other living entities are called adhibhautika. These living entities need not even be large, for there are many—such as bugs—that can make us miserable even while we are sleeping in bed. There are many insignificant living entities, like cockroaches, that sometimes give us pain, and there are also other living entities who are born on different kinds of planets and who give us miseries.

As far as the adhidaivika miseries are concerned, these are natural disasters that originate with the demigods of the higher planets. For instance, we sometimes suffer from severe cold or hot weather, from a thunderbolt, or from earthquakes, tornadoes, droughts and many natural disasters. In any case, we are always suffering from either one or a combination of these three kinds of miseries.

Sanatana s inquiry was therefore an intelligent one. “What is the position of the living entities?” he asked. “Why are they always undergoing these three kinds of miseries?” Sanatana had admitted his weakness. Although he was known by the masses of people as a greatly learned man (and actually he was a highly learned Sanskrit scholar), and although he accepted this designation, he did not actually know what his constitutional position really was and just why he was subjected to the threefold miseries.

Approaching a spiritual master is not just a fashion but is a necessity for one who is seriously conscious of the material miseries and who wants to be free of them. It is the duty of such a person to approach a spiritual master. In this regard, we should note similar circumstances in Bhagavad-gita. When Arjuna was perplexed by so many problems involving whether to fight or not, he accepted Lord Krsna as his spiritual master. It was also a case of the supreme spiritual master instructing Arjuna about the constitutional position of the living entity.

In Bhagavad-gita we are informed that the constitutional nature of the individual entity is spirit soul. He is not matter. As spirit soul, he is part and parcel of the supreme soul, the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead. We also learn that it is the duty of the spirit soul to surrender, for only then can he be happy. The last instruction of Bhagavad-gita is that the spirit soul surrender completely unto the supreme soul, Krsna, and in that way realize happiness.

Here also, Lord Caitanya, answering the questions of Sanatana, repeats the same truth. There is a difference, however. Here Lord Caitanya does not give the information about the spirit soul that is already described in Bhagavad-gita. Rather, He begins from the point where Krsna ended His instruction. It is accepted by great devotees that Lord Caitanya is Krsna Himself, and from this point of view He begins His instruction to Sanatana from the point where He ended His instructions to Arjuna in Bhagavad-gita.

“Your constitutional position is that you are pure living soul,” the Lord told Sanatana. “This material body cannot be identified with your real self; nor is your mind your real identity, nor your intelligence, nor false ego. Your identity is that of eternal servitor of the Supreme Lord Krsna. Your position is that you re transcendental. The superior energy of Krsna is spiritual in constitution, and the inferior external energy is material. Since you are between the material energy and the spiritual energy, your position is marginal. Belonging to the marginal potency of Krsna, you are simultaneously one with and different from Krsna. Because you are spirit, you are not different from Krsna, and because you are only a minute particle of Krsna, you are different from Him.”

This simultaneous oneness and difference always exists in the relationship between the living entities and the Supreme Lord. From the marginal position of the living entities, this conception of “simultaneously one and different” can be understood. The living entity is just like a molecular particle of sunshine, whereas Krsna may be compared to the blazing, shining sun itself. Lord Caitanya compared the living entities to blazing sparks from a fire and the Supreme Lord to the blazing fire of the sun. In this connection, the Lord cites a verse from Visnu Purana (1.22.52):

“Everything that is manifested within this cosmic world is but the energy of the Supreme Lord. As fire emanating from one place diffuses its illumination and heat all around, so the Lord, although situated in one place in the spiritual world, manifests His different energies everywhere. Indeed, the whole cosmic creation is composed of different manifestations of His energy.”

The energy of the Supreme Lord is transcendental and spiritual, and the living entities are part and parcel of that energy. There is another energy, however, called material energy, which is covered by the cloud of ignorance. This energy, which is material nature, is divided into three modes, or gunas (goodness, passion and ignorance). Lord Caitanya quoted from Visnu Purana (1.3.2) to the effect that all inconceivable energies reside in the Supreme Personality of the Lord and that the whole cosmic manifestation acts due to the Lord s inconceivable energy.

The Lord also said that the living entities are known as ksetrajna, or “knowers of the field of activities.” In the Thirteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gita, the body is described as the field of activities, and the living entity as ksetrajna, the knower of that field. Although the living entity is constitutionally conversant with spiritual energy, or has the potency to understand spiritual energy, he is covered by the material energy and consequently identifies the body with the self. This false identification is called “false ego.” Deluded by this false ego, the bewildered living entity in material existence changes his different bodies and suffers various kinds of miseries. Knowledge of the living entity s true position is possessed to different extents by different types of living entities.

In other words, it is to be understood that the living entity is part and parcel of the spiritual energy of the Supreme Lord. Because the material energy is inferior, man has the ability to get uncovered from this material energy and utilize the spiritual energy. It is stated in Bhagavad-gita that the superior energy is covered by the inferior energy. Due to this covering, the living entity is subjected to the miseries of the material world, and, in proportion to the different degrees of passion and ignorance, he suffers material miseries. Those who are a little enlightened suffer less, but on the whole everyone is subjected to material miseries due to being covered by the material energy.
Caitanya Mahaprabhu also quoted from the Seventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gita in which it is stated that earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and ego all combine together to form the inferior energy of the Supreme Lord. The superior energy, however, is the real identity of the living being, and it is because of that energy that the whole material world functions. The cosmic manifestation, which is made of material elements, has no power to act unless it is moved by the superior energy, the living entity. It can actually be said that the conditioned life of the living entity is due to forgetfulness of his relationship with the Supreme Lord in the superior energy. When that relationship is forgotten, conditional life is the result. Only when man revives his real identity, that of eternal servitor to the Lord, does he become liberated.

[Excerpt from Elevation to Krsna Consciousness, Ch 5]

Therefore we should know that our aim of life should be to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We should make every arrangement—social, political, philosophical or religious—but the aim should be to approach the Supreme person. In the Vedas it is stated that the learned advanced people, the demigods of the creation, simply look to the lotus feet of Krsna. The aim should be the same with human civilization. Without looking to Krsna s lotus feet, all religious, social or political endeavors will fail. It is not possible to make progress as long as our desires are anchored in the material world.

In this regard, there is a story of a bridegroom s party who had to go to the bride s house down the river. It was settled that they would start at night by boat and reach the destination early in the morning. Therefore at night, after supper, the jubilant party got aboard a boat, made themselves comfortable and instructed the boatmen to start. Since all the members of the party were seated comfortably, and since the river breeze was very pleasant, they slept soundly that night. In the morning they all got up early, but to their astonishment they saw that the boat had not moved an inch toward the destination, even though the boatmen had rowed vigorously all night long. Finally, after inquiring, they found that despite the boatmen s rowing, the boat had not moved because they had failed to raise the anchor. The marriage ceremony was thus spoiled because of a foolish mistake.

Our present civilization is therefore a mistaken civilization because the mistaken leaders have forgotten to raise the anchor of attachment. Instead, the anchor is being more and more firmly fixed because they have structured the social order on the basis of sense gratification. This sense gratifying social and political set-up, maintained by various plans and schemes, has been described in Bhagavad-gita as follows:

“The demoniac, taking shelter of insatiable lust, pride, and false prestige, and being thus illusioned, are always sworn to unclean work, attracted by the impermanent. Their belief is that to gratify the senses unto the end of life is the prime necessity of human civilization. Thus, there is no measurement for their anxiety.” (Bg. 16.10.11)

The leaders, like the boatmen, are all illusioned. They mislead us into taking some temporary benefit, but how long can their plans and schemes go on? If they persist until they die of heart failure or are killed by assassins, then another just like them takes their place. Even the so-called philosophers of modern society are captivated by material name and fame, and so they do not lead the general populace in the proper direction. Thus the anchor of life remains deeply fixed in the waters of nescience for the purpose of sense gratification, and thus our so-called civilization rots in a stagnant pool. Because we are not moving, we are always in the same port of problematic life.

All schemes are only useless scraps of paper in the face of war, famine, earthquakes and other disasters. All these disasters are warnings from Mother Durga, and by them she confirms her eternal superiority over the illusioned planmakers. The different weights on the anchor which keep us grounded in material life are our attachments to the material body due to our ignorance of spiritual facts, our attachment to kinsmen due to bodily relations, our attachment to our land of birth and our material possessions, our attachment to material science and our attachment to religious forms and rituals without knowing their true purpose—all these anchor the boat of the human body in the material universe. Sri Krsna, using the example of a strongly rooted banyan tree, advises us in Bhagavad-gita how to get rid of this attachment once and for all:

“The real form of this tree cannot be perceived in this world. No one can understand where it ends, where it begins, or where its foundation is. This banyan tree must be cut out with determination, by the weapon of detachment. Thereafter, one must seek that situation from which, having gone, one never comes back. One must surrender to that Supreme Personality of Godhead from whom everything has begun and is extending since time immemorial.” (Bg. 15.3,4)

The personality of Godhead, who is fully cognizant of everything in His creation, informs us in our best interest that we must desire to get rid of this material existence. We must detach ourselves from everything material. To make the best use of a bad bargain, our material existence should be 100% spiritualized by constant association with Krsna s message, His devotees and His names. Therefore everyone who ordinarily engages in material affairs can derive the highest benefit from this Krsna consciousness movement. All kinds of spiritual endeavors are more or less tinged with material contamination. However, pure devotional service is transcendental to all pollution. We need not artificially adopt principles of materialism; we need only fix our minds on the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna.

]]>https://theharekrishnamovement.org/2018/01/04/natural-disasters-adhidaivika/feed/0lokadrstiPhotos by Gurudashttps://theharekrishnamovement.org/2018/01/03/photos-by-gurudas-7/
https://theharekrishnamovement.org/2018/01/03/photos-by-gurudas-7/#respondWed, 03 Jan 2018 18:31:25 +0000http://theharekrishnamovement.org/?p=10882Today we share with you some of the early photography of my dear friend and God brother, Gurudas Prabhu.

“A New Year’s resolution is a commitment that a person makes to one or more personal goals, projects, or the reforming of a habit. A key element to a New Year’s resolution that sets it apart from other resolutions is that it is made in anticipation of the New Year and new beginnings.” (Wikipedia definition)

Every year it seems I make the fruitless attempt to write down my New Year’s Resolutions, vowing to do less of this and more of that. But this year, I am just going to try to be a better human being. I am just going to try to develop the qualities of a devotee, which are 26 in number, and try to get myself free from material entanglement and go Back Home, Back to Godhead.

The Twenty-Six Qualities of a Devotee

The Lord is satisfied by the development of the transcendental qualities of the living entities and not by artificial performance of sacrifices and mystic yoga. In other words, unless one is fully qualified to become a pure devotee of the Lord, one cannot expect to be liberated from material entanglement.

These qualities of a devotee, twenty-six in number, are listed by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu:

Krsna’s incarnation in the age of Kali Yuga, is Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, in the mood of a perfect devotee

1. KIND TO EVERYONE
The devotee is merciful because he is the well-wishing friend of all living entities. He is not only favorably inclined to the human society but also to plants and animals. He treats all living entities in such a way that they can ultimately become free from material bondage and go back home, back to Godhead.

2. HUMBLE, DOES NOT QUARREL WITH ANYONE
To be humble means that one is not hankering to be worshiped by others. Humility should not be artificial but honest, deep, and natural. It will develop when the conditioned soul admits its wrong attitude towards Krsna and prays to Him for forgiveness and to be allowed to always engage in His devotional service.

3.TRUTHFUL, FIXED IN THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH
The primary truthfulness for a disciple to keep his vow of following the regulative principles and chanting 16 rounds of japa every day. Also, a devotee should not perform any illegal activities and he should always act in Krsna’s interest and not in his own in order to remain fixed in the absolute truth.

4.EQUAL TO EVERYONE
A devotee sees the soul and the Supersoul in everyone’s heart and treats every living entity according to its position and in a way that is most beneficial for its spiritual progress.

5.FAULTLESS
A devotee, who in words, deeds, and mind is always surrendered to Krsna and who executes Krsna’s desire to the best of his ability is considered to be faultless.

6.CHARITABLE
A devotee is charitable because he knows that love for Krsna is the best, and he distributes it without selfish motives. His charity has no limits, just like the happiness someone experiences who got the gift of Krsna consciousness.

7.MILD
A devotee avoids illusory, materialistic happiness, and thus is spared from the suffering which is bound to it. He always remains peaceful, because he is satisfied within Krsna consciousness.

8.CLEAN, PURE
The Krsna conscious movement is meant for purifying the world in a revolutionary way-by hygienic external principles as well as by chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra which purifies the heart.

9.SIMPLE, WITHOUT MATERIAL POSSESSION
The highest realization is to see everything as Krsna’s property. The sincere devotee is not only satisfied to see everything as Krsna’s property, but also to engage everything in a proper way in Krsna’s service.

10.BENEVOLENT
Since Krsna-consciousness effects the heart of every living entity, the welfare work of a devotee is not restricted to a specific race, species, etc., but for the benefit of all living entities.

11.PEACEFUL
To be peaceful does not mean to physically maintain idyllic peace but to experience real peace in one’s relationship with Krsna. Only someone who has realized that there is nothing beyond Krsna can achieve real peace and fearlessness.

12.COMPLETELY ATTACHED TO KRSNA
Devotion to Krsna is neither sentimental nor whimsical but authorized and scientific. By practicing devotional service we can learn to surrender properly. Complete surrender to Krsna is the goal of every devotee because he wants to become free from material desires in order to serve Krsna more and more. Complete surrender to Krsna is the most important of all qualities to be developed.

13.DESIRELESS
When one is fully engaged in devotional service, one realizes that all one’s desires are satisfied. Thus one does not have any material desire anymore. One only desires to serve guru and Krsna.

14.INDIFFERENCE TOWARDS MATERIAL POSSESSIONS
A devotee may use things in Krsna’s service but he does not become attached to or dependent on them. He may serve Krsna with millions of dollars by opening temples, printing books, etc. However, he is also satisfied when he does not have any material assets and then simply chants Hare Krsna.

15.STEADY, FIXED
The realizations of a devotee should be so profound that his dedication to his spiritual master and Krsna cannot be influenced anymore by various temptations, suffering or opposing philosophies.

16.SELF-CONTROLLED
There are six bad qualities, namely lust, anger, greed, illusion, madness and envy. A pure devotee controls these bad qualities by engaging in Krsna’s service. These qualities cannot be left behind in an artificial way by can be easily counteracted with transcendental knowledge and transcendental taste arising from one’s devotional service.

17.DOES NOT EAT MORE THAN REQUIRED
Lord Krsna explains in the Bhagavad-gita that a yogi does not eat too much nor too little. This means practically exactly as much as he can easily digest. According to Ayurveda, one’s stomach should be filled with 1/2 food, 1/4 water, and 1/4 air.

18.SANE
A devotee is never intoxicated by material enjoyment. He reduces his requirements to a minimum and offers his whole life to Krsna. In this way he is completely balanced.

19.RESPECTFUL
A devotee offers respect to others without expecting anything in return. He respects everyone as part of Krsna and treats them accordingly.

20.HAS NO MATERIAL HANKERING
A devotee is not attracted by material possessions which help us to gain a prestigious position. He sees everything attractive in this world as a reflection of Krsna, the all-attractive cause of all causes.

21.GRAVE
Although we lead a happy life in Krsna consciousness, we are always conscious that the material existence can be finished at any time and that the way back home, back to Godhead is not cheap. To be grave means that the devotee is constantly thinking of Krsna and the ultimate goal of life.

22.COMPASSIONATE
The essence of compassion is the distribution of transcendental knowledge. The basis of it are Srila Prabhupada’s books and the force behind it is our purity.

23.FRIENDLY
A devotee is friendly because he leads everyone to Krsna, who is the best friend of all living entities.

24.POETIC
A devotee is even poetic if he is not literarily active because he is able to connect everything with Krsna’s transcendental nature.

25.SILENT
Silence means that one only speaks about Krsna and not about material topics.

26.EXPERT
The essence of the expertise of a devotee is that he can do anything for Krsna. The best expertise is to surrender to Krsna.

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada exhibits these super excellent qualities of a devotee. He is the acarya (one who teaches by example) and is exemplary in showing us how to develop the qualities in order to benefit all living beings and to serve Krsna.

Today being the New Year, a Holiday celebrated around the world, we thought we would post a festive recipe. This Gulab Jumaun recipe was taken from the very nice cooking web page Cooking with Kurma. I encourage you all to try this wonderful recipe on your friends and family.

Succulent Milk Balls in Rose-scented Syrup (Gulab Jamuns)

Gulab Jamuns are ideal confections for festive moments and entertaining. When guests are confronted with them for the first time they invariably ask, “What are they? ” Guesses then range from preserved fruits to doughnuts. In fact, Gulab Jamuns are made from just milk powder and flour. They’re fried slowly in ghee until the lactose in the milk powder caramelises and turns them a golden brown, and then they are soaked in a rose-scented, medium- heavy sugar syrup. Hence, the Hindi words Gulab Jamun meaning literally “rose ball”.

Full recipe follows

Although it only takes a few minutes to assemble the dough, the Gulab Jamuns must be fried slowly under carefully controlled temperatures. Some recipes increase the flour content of the dough in order to minimise the importance of the heat regulation, but it is a fact that the less flour there is in the dough, the better the quality of the Gulab Jamun. If the balls are browned too quickly, or not fried long enough, they tend to collapse in the sugar syrup.

Because the balls must be constantly agitated while they fry, I suggest you take your phone off the hook, pull up a stool, and put on your favourite CD.

Combine the water and sugar in a 3 litre pan over moderate heat and stir constantly until the sugar has dissolved. Raise the heat and boil for 5 minutes. Remove the syrup from the heat. Add the rose water and set aside.

Pour the ghee to a depth of 6.7 – 7.5 cm in a non-stick deep-frying vessel at least 25 cm in diameter. Place over very low heat.

To make the dough: sift the flour and milk powder into a small bowl. Pour the warm milk into a large bowl. Sprinkle the small bowl of milk powder and flour into the large bowl of warm milk while mixing with your other hand. Quickly mix and knead the combination into a moist, smooth, and pliable dough. Wash your hands, rub a film of warm ghee on them, and divide the dough into 20 portions. Roll those portions into 20 smooth balls. Place them onto an oiled tray or plate.

When the ghee temperature reaches 102°C, drop the balls in, one by one. The balls will initially sink to the bottom. Do not try to move them. You can, however, gently shake the deep-frying vessel from side to side occasionally until the balls start to rise to the surface. From this point on they must be gently and constantly stirred, rolling them over and over with the back of a slotted spoon, allowing them to brown evenly on all sides.

After 5 minutes, the temperature of the ghee will have increased to about 104°C and the balls will have started to expand.

After 10 minutes, the temperature should be increased to 107°C.
After 25 minutes, the ghee temperature should be about 110°C and the balls should be golden brown.

Test one by dropping it into the warm syrup. If it doesn’t collapse within three minutes then remove all the balls (3 or 4 at a time) with the slotted spoon and place them in the syrup. Otherwise, cook the balls for another 5 minutes. When all the Gulab Jamuns have been placed in the syrup, turn off the heat under the ghee and allow the sweets to soak in the syrup for at least 2 hours.

Gulab Jamuns can be prepared a day in advance, allowing them to fully soak overnight. They should be served at room temperature or slightly warmed.

“Wherever there is Kṛṣṇa, the master of all mystics, and wherever there is Arjuna, the supreme archer, there will also certainly be opulence, victory, extraordinary power, and morality. That is my opinion.” (Bhagavad-gita 18.78)

“Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me clearly what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me.” (Bhagavad-gita 2.7

Observing the Armies on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra

“Arjuna said, My dear Kṛṣṇa, O infallible one, my illusion is now gone. I have regained my memory by Your mercy, and I am now firm and free from doubt and am prepared to act according to Your instructions.” (Bhagavad-gita 18.73)

Unfortunately, I have been following the News of late, and with some personal disgust, have had to watch the Republican Tax Bill, which was written in secret, and pushed through the House and Senate for final signing, become law. It puts the country into more debt, while giving a tax break to the very rich and largest corporations. The new tax bill lowers the tax rate for top earners, and gives a massive tax cut to corporations. Starting on Jan. 1, 2018, big businesses’ tax rate would fall from 35 percent to just 21 percent, the largest one-time rate cut in U.S. history for the nation’s largest companies. Seems like the swamp didn’t get drained after all.

O best of kings, please get up! Get up! Just see this world surrounded by water and infested with rogues and so-called kings. This world is very much afraid, and it is your duty to protect her.

“Whenever an ācārya comes, following the superior orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His representative, he establishes the principles of religion, as enunciated in Bhagavad-gītā. Religion means abiding by the orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead… Unfortunately, when the ācārya disappears, rogues and nondevotees take advantage and immediately begin to introduce unauthorized principles in the name of so-called svāmīs, yogīs, philanthropists, welfare workers and so on.

The main business of human society is to think of the Supreme Personality of Godhead at all times, to become His devotees, to worship the Supreme Lord and to bow down before Him. The ācārya, the authorized representative of the Supreme Lord, establishes these principles, but when he disappears, things once again become disordered. The perfect disciples of the ācārya try to relieve the situation by sincerely following the instructions of the spiritual master. At the present moment practically the entire world is afraid of rogues and nondevotees; therefore this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is started to save the world from irreligious principles. Everyone should cooperate with this movement in order to bring about actual peace and happiness in the world. (from Purport to SB4.28.48)

O best of kings, please get up! Get up! Just see this world surrounded by water and infested with rogues and so-called kings. This world is very much afraid, and it is your duty to protect her.

PURPORT

Whenever an ācārya comes, following the superior orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His representative, he establishes the principles of religion, as enunciated in Bhagavad-gītā. Religion means abiding by the orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Religious principles begin from the time one surrenders to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is the ācārya’s duty to spread a bona fide religious system and induce everyone to bow down before the Supreme Lord. One executes the religious principles by rendering devotional service, specifically the nine items like hearing, chanting and remembering. Unfortunately, when the ācārya disappears, rogues and nondevotees take advantage and immediately begin to introduce unauthorized principles in the name of so-called svāmīs, yogīs, philanthropists, welfare workers and so on. Actually, human life is meant for executing the orders of the Supreme Lord, and this is stated in Bhagavad-gītā (9.34):

“Engage your mind always in thinking of Me and become My devotee. Offer obeisances and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.”

The main business of human society is to think of the Supreme Personality of Godhead at all times, to become His devotees, to worship the Supreme Lord and to bow down before Him. The ācārya, the authorized representative of the Supreme Lord, establishes these principles, but when he disappears, things once again become disordered. The perfect disciples of the ācārya try to relieve the situation by sincerely following the instructions of the spiritual master. At the present moment practically the entire world is afraid of rogues and nondevotees; therefore this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is started to save the world from irreligious principles. Everyone should cooperate with this movement in order to bring about actual peace and happiness in the world.

Reading or hearing of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is also performance of bhakti-yoga

The sound of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is transcendental, and the resonance of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is as good as that of the Vedas. Thus the topic of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the science of both the Lord and the living entity.

…The sound of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is transcendental, and the resonance of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is as good as that of the Vedas. Thus the topic of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the science of both the Lord and the living entity. Regular reading or hearing of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is also performance of bhakti-yoga, and one can attain the highest perfection simply by the association of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Both Śukadeva Gosvāmī and Mahārāja Parīkṣit attained perfection through the medium of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. (from purport SB 2.9.4)

O King, the Personality of Godhead, being very much pleased with Lord Brahmā because of his nondeceptive penance in bhakti-yoga, presented His eternal and transcendental form before Brahmā. And that is the objective goal for purifying the conditioned soul.

PURPORT

Ātma-tattva is the science of both God and the living entity. Both the Supreme Lord and the living entity are known as ātmā. The Supreme Lord is called Paramātmā, and the living entity is called the ātmā, the brahma or the jīva. Both the Paramātmā and the jīvātmā, being transcendental to the material energy, are called ātmā. So Śukadeva Gosvāmī explains this verse with the aim of purifying the truth of both the Paramātmā and the jīvātmā. Generally people have many wrong conceptions about both of them. The wrong conception of the jīvātmā is to identify the material body with the pure soul, and the wrong conception of Paramātmā is to think Him on an equal level with the living entity. But both misconceptions can be removed by one stroke of bhakti-yoga, just as in the sunlight both the sun and the world and everything within the sunlight are properly seen. In the darkness one cannot see the sun, nor himself, nor the world. But in the sunlight one can see the sun, himself and the world around him. Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī therefore says that for purification of both wrong conceptions, the Lord presented His eternal form before Brahmājī, being fully satisfied by Brahmā’s nondeceptive vow of discharging bhakti-yoga. Except for bhakti-yoga, any method for realization of ātma-tattva, or the science of ātmā, will prove deceptive in the long run.

In the Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord says that only by bhakti-yoga can one know Him perfectly, and then one can enter into the science of God. Brahmājī undertook great penance in performing bhakti-yoga, and thus he was able to see the transcendental form of the Lord. His transcendental form is one hundred percent spiritual, and one can see Him only by spiritualized vision after proper discharge of tapasya or penance, in pure bhakti-yoga. The form of the Lord manifested before Brahmā is not one of the forms with which we have experience in the material world. Brahmājī did not perform such severe types of penance just to see a form of material production. Therefore the question by Mahārāja Parīkṣit about the form of the Lord is answered. The form of the Lord is sac-cid-ānanda [Bs. 5.1], or eternal, full of knowledge and full of bliss. But the material form of the living being is neither eternal, nor full of knowledge, nor blissful. That is the distinction between the form of the Lord and that of the conditioned soul. The conditioned soul, however, can regain his form of eternal knowledge and bliss simply by seeing the Lord by means of bhakti-yoga.

The summary is that due to ignorance the conditioned soul is encaged in the temporary varieties of material forms. But the Supreme Lord has no such temporary form like the conditioned souls. He is always possessed of an eternal form of knowledge and bliss, and that is the difference between the Lord and the living entity. One can understand this difference by the process of bhakti-yoga. Brahmā was then told by the Lord the gist of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in four original verses. Thus Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is not a creation of the mental speculators. The sound of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is transcendental, and the resonance of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is as good as that of the Vedas. Thus the topic of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the science of both the Lord and the living entity. Regular reading or hearing of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is also performance of bhakti-yoga, and one can attain the highest perfection simply by the association of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Both Śukadeva Gosvāmī and Mahārāja Parīkṣit attained perfection through the medium of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Today we honor His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s disappearance day, with a half day fast, followed by offerings, and Pushpanjali. The beautiful Vyasasana decoration was done some years back by Her Grace Lokadrsti devi dasi, with assistance from Hari Nama, Maha Laxmi, and Christine prabhus.after Guru-puja

Please accept my fallen obeisance’s, and my love, on this auspicious day of your disappearance. With your arrival on the shores of America, you brought with you the shinning lamp of knowledge; the wisdom on India and the Supreme Absolute Truth. You appeared on the shores of America the way the sun appears on the Eastern Horizon. Slowly revealing itself at first, then dominating the sky with its blazing effulgence. Illuminating the entire world with its golden light. Where there is light there is no darkness. And wherever your words are being sung and repeated, there is a glimmer of hope for the materially conditioned souls.

Your words and instructions are the very life and soul of a genuine disciple. It is said that the best process of understanding Krishna is to hear about Him, either from Krishna Himself as given in statements from the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, or from the self realized pure devotee. One does not even need to change his worldly position; he simply has to hear the message of Krishna.

It is from you only, Srila Prabhupada, that I know anything at all about Krishna or the spiritual world. By your grace only, the knowledge is revealed, and you become revealed to your disciples and listeners. Anyone who submissively hears from you, either by reading your books, or hearing your lectures, can attain the highest perfectional platform. Just as there is the sun and the sunshine, so, there is Krishna and Krishna’s pure representative. When we feel the sunshine, we know the sun is there, and when we hear from you, we know that Krishna is there.

We will be posting some of Lord Krishna’s childhood pastimes durning this month of Damodara (Kartika)

All the gopī friends of Yaśodā and Rohiṇī enjoyed the naughty childish activities of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma in Vṛndāvana. In order to enjoy further transcendental bliss, they all assembled and went to mother Yaśodā to lodge complaints against the restless boys. When Kṛṣṇa was sitting before mother Yaśodā, all the elderly gopīs began to lodge complaints against Him so that Kṛṣṇa could hear. They said, “Dear Yaśodā, why don’t you restrict your naughty Kṛṣṇa? He comes to our houses along with Balarāma every morning and evening, and before the milking of the cows They let loose the calves, and the calves drink all the milk of the cows. So when we go to milk the cows, we find no milk, and we have to return with empty pots. If we warn Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma about doing this, They simply smile charmingly. We cannot do anything. Also, your Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma find great pleasure in stealing our stock of yogurt and butter from wherever we keep it. When Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma are caught stealing the yogurt and butter, They say, ’Why do you charge Us with stealing? Do you think that butter and yogurt are in scarcity in Our house?’ Sometimes They steal butter, yogurt and milk and distribute them to the monkeys. When the monkeys are well fed and do not take any more, then your boys chide, ’This milk and butter and yogurt are useless–even the monkeys won’t take it.’ And They break the pots and throw them hither and thither. If we keep our stock of yogurt, butter and milk in a solitary dark place, your Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma find it in the darkness by the glaring effulgence of the ornaments and jewels on Their bodies. If by chance They cannot find the hidden butter and yogurt, They go to our little babies and pinch their bodies so that they cry, and then They go away. If we keep our stock of butter and yogurt high on the ceiling, hanging on a swing, although it is beyond Their reach, They arrange to reach it by piling all kinds of wooden crates over the grinding machine. And if They cannot reach, They make a hole in the pot. We think therefore that you better take all the jeweled ornaments from the bodies of your children.”

On hearing this, Yaśodā would say, “All right, I will take all the jewels from Kṛṣṇa so that He can not see the butter hidden in the darkness.” Then the gopīs would say, “No, no, don’t do this. What good will you do by taking away the jewels? We do not know what kind of boys these are, but even without ornaments They spread some kind of effulgence so that even in darkness They can see everything.” Then mother Yaśodā would inform them, “All right, keep your butter and yogurt carefully so that They may not reach it.” In reply to this, the gopīs said, “Yes, actually we do so, but because we are sometimes engaged in our household duties, these naughty boys enter our house somehow or other and spoil everything. Sometimes being unable to steal our butter and yogurt, out of anger They pass urine on the clean floor and sometimes spit on it. Just see your boy now–He is hearing this complaint. All day They simply makes arrangements to steal our butter and yogurt, and now They are sitting just like very silent good boys. Just see His face.” When mother Yaśodā thought to chastise her boy after hearing all the complaints, she saw His pitiable face, and smiling, she did not chastise Him. (from Krsna the Supreme Personality of Godhead chapter 8)

1) To the supreme controller who possesses an eternal form of blissful knowledge, whose glistening earrings swing to and fro, who manifested Himself in Gokula, who stole the butter that the gopis kept hanging from the rafters of their storerooms and who then quickly jumped up and ran in retreat in fear of Mother Yasoda, but was ultimately caught-to that Supreme Lord, Sri Damodara, I offer my humble obeisances.

2) Upon seeing His mothers whipping stick, He cried and rubbed His eyes again and again with His two lotus hands. His eyes were fearful and His breathing quick, and as Mother Yasoda bound His belly with ropes, He shivered in fright and His pearl necklace shook, To this Supreme Lord, Sri Damodara, who is bound with His devotee’s love, I offer my humble obeisances.

3) Those superexcellent pastimes of Lord Krsna’s babyhood drowned the inhabitants of Gokula in pools of ecstasy. To the devotees who are attracted only to His majestic aspect of Narayana in Vaikuntha, the Lord herein reveals: “I am conquered and overwhelmed by pure loving devotion.” To the Supreme Lord, Damodara, my obeisances hundreds and hundreds of times.

4) O Lord, although You are able to give all kinds of benedictions, I do not pray to You for liberation, nor eternal life in Vaikuntha, nor any other boon. My only prayer is that Your childhood pastimes may constantly appear in my mind. O Lord, I do not even want to know Your feature of Paramatma. I simply wish that Your childhood pastimes may ever be enacted in my heart.

5) O Lord, the cheeks of Your blackish lotus face, which is encircled by locks of curling hair, have become reddened like bimba fruit due to Mother Yasoda’s kisses, What more can I describe than this? Millions of opulences are of no use to me, but may this vision constantly remain in my mind.

6) O unlimited Visnu! O master! O Lord! Be pleased upon me! I am drowning in an ocean of sorrow and am almost like a dead man, Please shower the rain of mercy on me; uplift me and protect me with Your nectarean vision.

7) O Lord Damodara, in Your form as a baby, Mother Yasoda bound You to a grinding stone with a rope for tying cows, You then freed the sons of Kuvera, Manigriva, and Nalakuvera, who were cursed to stand as trees, and You gave them the chance to become Your devotees. Please bless me in this same way, I have no desire for liberation into Your effulgence.

8) O Lord, the entire universe was created by Lord Brahma, who was born from Your abdomen, which was bound with a rope by Mother Yasoda. To this rope I offer my humble obeisances. I offer my obeisances to Your most beloved Srimati Radharani, and to Your unlimited pastimes.

In reading many of the profiles of Srila Prabhupada, I’m saddened that a number of his important projects, programs and achievements are never mentioned. In the following summary I’ve tried to compile a more comprehensive list of his credits. Although this list is also incomplete, I hope it presents a fuller picture of Srila Prabhupada’s greatness.(Paratrika Ananda das)

A Summary of Srila Prabhupada’s Miraculous Accomplishments from 1965 to 1977

In 1965, at seventy years of age, he ventured outside India for the first time to fulfill the order of his spiritual master. During his voyage at sea, he suffered two severe heart attacks. He reached the shores of America with the equivalent of seven dollars to his name.

He founded the International Society for Krsna Consciousness with a small group of disciples, after a year of struggling alone in New York City. This marked the only time in history that a Krsna devotee successfully trained non-Indians in the strict disciplines of Vaisnavism. Amazingly, this was achieved during the blossoming of America’s hedonistic counterculture movement.

He sent his followers, chanting the names of God, into the streets of cities and towns everywhere and Hare Krsna became famous in every corner of the earth.

He sent his disciples to London, where they recorded the single, “Hare Krsna Mantra”, with George Harrison, in 1969. It became the fastest selling of all the Apple Corporation’s releases, including those of the Beatles. The record reached #3 in Czechoslovakia, #9 in Britain, and made the top ten in Germany, Japan, Australia, South Africa, Yugoslavia, and many other countries.

He formally initiated approximately five thousand disciples. These initiates represented a sweeping diversity of nationalities, races, ethnicities, and religious backgrounds.

He established 108 Krsna temples on six continents, installed the deity of Krsna in each center and trained his disciples in the process of deity worship. Thirty-two new temples (almost three a month) were opened in a single year, between 1970 and 1971.

He inaugurated the Rathayatra Festival of Lord Jaganatha in major cities around the globe, in effect, bringing the temple to the people.

He instituted the brahmacarini asram, something previously unheard of in Vedic culture, to give shelter to single women wishing to practice Krsna consciousness.

He instructed his disciples in 1967 to start an incense business to provide financial support for the temples. Within four years the business, Spiritual Sky Incense, generated an annual revenue of one million dollars (equivalent to $4,600,000 in 2004).

He introduced the “Sunday Love Feast” and other prasadam (sanctified food) distribution programs that provided millions of free meals to the public.

He created the world’s first chain of vegetarian restaurants.

He spoke daily on the philosophy of Krsna consciousness, delivering thousands of formal lectures. Over 2,200 were recorded and archived.

He conducted many hundreds of informal conversations on the science of Krsna consciousness with disciples, guests and friends. Over 1,300 were recorded and archived.

He had scores of interviews and philosophical discussions with news reporters, scientists, religious leaders and politicians, as well as meetings with world-renowned dignitaries and celebrities like Indira Gandhi, Allen Ginsberg, Ravi Shankar, Alice Coltrane, John Lennon and George Harrison.

He recorded more than twenty albums of devotional music.

He published the monthly magazine, Back to Godhead, which he called the backbone of his movement. At the height of its circulation in the mid seventies, over a million copies per issue were sold.

He launched the ISKCON Life Membership Program that enrolled tens of thousands of members.

He built major temples in Bombay and Vrndavana, and founded a spiritual city at Mayapur. All became international sites of pilgrimage.

He established primary schools to provide education in the principles of devotional service.

He founded the Bhaktivedanta Institute to advance Krsna consciousness within the scientific community, engaging serious academics in the consideration of the science of self-realization.

He formed the Bhaktivedanta Swami Charity Trust to unearth and renovate the holy places of Lord Caitanya’s pastimes.

He set up farm communities to teach “simple living and high thinking”, emphasizing cow protection and dependence on God and nature.

He commissioned his artist disciples to produce hundreds of illustrations of Krsna’s pastimes based on his meticulous instructions and the descriptions in his books.

He directed some of his followers to learn the Indian art of “doll making” to present Vedic philosophy through dioramas. This project became the FATE Museums.

He counseled his disciples on complex managerial, philosophical and personal issues in more than 6,000 archived letters.

He was the subject of more than 30,000 archival photos and more than seventy hours of documentary film footage.

He wrote approximately seventy books on the science of Krsna consciousness, sleeping only a few hours per day. Dozens of prominent scholars and educators from leading universities praised his work (see appendix).

The Encyclopaedia Britannica proclaimed that his voluminous translations from the original Sanskrit and his lucid commentaries “have astounded literary and academic communities worldwide.” This feat is even more astonishing considering the translations and commentaries were in English, which was a second language to the author.

He founded the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT) in 1972, to produce his books. By 1976, over 55,000,000 literatures had been published in twenty-five languages and distributed in almost every country, making the BBT the world’s largest publisher of Indian religious and philosophical texts. One printing alone of Bhagavad-gita As It Isrequired seventy-six train cars to ship the paper needed to print it.

“No work in all Indian literature is more quoted, because none is better loved, in the West, than the Bhagavad-gita. Translation of such a work demands not only knowledge of Sanskrit, but an inward sympathy with the theme and a verbal artistry. For the poem is a symphony in which God is seen in all things. The Swami does a real service for students by investing the beloved Indian epic with fresh meaning. Whatever our outlook may be, we should all be grateful for the labor that has lead to this illuminating work.”

Dr. Geddes MacGregor, Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Philosophy

University of Southern California

“The Gita can be seen as the main literary support for the great religious civilization of India, the oldest surviving culture in the world. The present translation and commentary is another manifestation of the permanent living importance of the Gita.”

Thomas Merton, Theologian

“I am most impressed with A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s scholarly and authoritative edition of Bhagavad-gita. It is a most valuable work for the scholar as well as the layman and is of great utility as a reference book as well as a textbook. I promptly recommend this edition to my students. It is a beautifully done book.”

Dr. Samuel D. Atkins, Professor of Sanskrit

Princeton University

“As a successor in direct line from Caitanya, the author of Bhagavad-gita As It Is is entitled, according to Indian custom, to the majestic title of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. The great interest that his reading of the Bhagavad-gita holds for us is that it offers us an authorized interpretation according to the principles of the Caitanya tradition.”

Olivier Lacombe, Professor of Sanskrit and Indology

Sorbonne University, Paris

“I have had the opportunity of examining several volumes published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust and have found them to be of excellent quality and of great value for use in college classes on Indian religions. This is particularly true of the BBT edition and translation of the Bhagavad-gita.”

Dr. Frederick B. Underwood, Professor of Religion

Columbia University

“If truth is what works, as Pierce and the pragmatists insist, there must be a kind of truth in the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, since those who follow its teachings display a joyous serenity usually missing in the bleak and strident lives of contemporary people.”

Dr. Elwin H. Powell, Professor of Sociology

State University of New York, Buffalo

“There is little question that this edition is one of the best books available on the Gita and devotion. Prabhupada’s translation is an ideal blend of literal accuracy and religious insight.”

Dr. Thomas J. Hopkins, Professor of Religion

Franklin and Marshall College

“The Bhagavad-gita, one of the great spiritual texts, is not as yet a common part of our cultural milieu. This is probably less because it is alien per se than because we have lacked just the kind of close interpretative commentary upon it that Swami Bhaktivedanta has here provided, a commentary written from not only a scholar’s but a practitioner’s, a dedicated lifelong devotee’s point of view.”

Denise Levertov, Poet

“The increasing numbers of Western readers interested in classical Vedic thought have been done a service by Swami Bhaktivedanta. By bringing us a new and living interpretation of a text already known to many, he has increased our understanding manyfold.”

Dr. Edward C Dimock, Jr.

Department of South Asian Languages and Civilization

University of Chicago

“The scholarly world is again indebted to A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Although Bhagavad-gita has been translated many times, Prabhupada adds a translation of singular importance with his commentary.”

Dr. J. Stillson Judah

Professor of the History of Religions and Director of Libraries

Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California

“Srila Prabhupada’s edition thus fills a sensitive gap in France, where many hope to become familiar with traditional Indian thought, beyond the commercial East-West hodgepodge that has arisen since the time Europeans first penetrated India.

“Whether the reader be an adept of Indian spiritualism or not, a reading of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is will be extremely profitable. For many this will be the first contact with the true India, the ancient India, the eternal India.”

Francois Chenique, Professor of Religious Sciences

Institute of Political Studies, Paris, France

“As a native of India now living in the West, it has given me much grief to see so many of my fellow countrymen coming to the West in the role of gurus and spiritual leaders. For this reason, I am very excited to see the publication of Bhagavad-gita As It Is by Sri A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. It will help to stop the terrible cheating of false and unauthorized ‘gurus‘ and ‘yogis‘ and will give an opportunity to all people to understand the actual meaning of Oriental culture.”

Dr. Kailash Vajpeye, Director of Indian Studies

Center for Oriental Studies, The University of Mexico

“It is a deeply felt, powerfully conceived and beautifully explained work. I don’t know whether to praise more this translation of the Bhagavad-gita, its daring method of explanation, or the endless fertility of its ideas. I have never seen any other work on the Gita with such an important voice and style. It will occupy a significant place in the intellectual and ethical life of modern man for a long time to come.”

Dr. Shaligram Shukla, Professor of Linguistics

Georgetown University

“I can say that in the Bhagavad-gita As It Is I have found explanations and answers to questions I had always posed regarding the interpretations of this sacred work, whose spiritual discipline I greatly admire. If the aesceticism and ideal of the apostles which form the message of the Bhagavad-gita As It Iswere more widespread and more respected, the world in which we live would be transformed into a better, more fraternal place.”

Dr. Paul Lesourd, Author

Professeur Honoraire, Catholic University of Paris

Srimad-Bhagavatam

“This is a work to be treasured. No one of whatever faith or philosophical persuasion who reads these books with an open mind can fail to be both moved and impressed.”

Dr. Garry Gelade, Professor of Psychology

Oxford University

“It has been my great pleasure recently to have read the Srimad-Bhagavatam in the superb edition authorized by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. I am sure this monumental work will go far to bring the sublime message of the Bhagavatam to numerous Westerners who otherwise would miss this opportunity.”

Dr. Alex Wayman, Professor of Sanskrit

Columbia University

“The Srimad-Bhagavatam is extremely useful for all those interested in ancient India, whether their interest be that of the philosopher, the student of religion, the historian, the linguist, the sociologist or the political scientist. I truly hope that Srila Prabhupada will complete his translation of the entire Bhagavata and continue to translate other eminent Sanskrit works as well. Undoubtedly, this work of Swamiji’s is a great contribution to the troubled human society of today’s world.”

Dr. Sooda L. Bhatt, Professor of Indian Language

Boston University

“The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust editions of famous religious classics of India, with new translations and commentaries, are an important addition to our expanding knowledge of spiritual India. The new edition of the Srimad-Bhagavatam is particularly welcome.”

Dr. John L. Mish, Chief, Oriental Division

New York Public Library

“A commentary on the Vedanta-sutra by Srila Vyasadeva divided into twelve ‘cantos’ of which four are presented here in eight beautifully produced volumes. These lavish volumes, obviously the product of devotional effort, contain many lovely full-color illustrations.”

Choice magazine, June, 1975

“In the diversity of religious approaches offered by the yogis of India, the most significant, of course, is the way of Krsna consciousness. It is amazing to see how Sri Bhaktivedanta Swami has in less than ten years succeeded, by his personal devotion, untiring energy and efficient direction, in organizing the International Society for Krsna Consciousness. Now, he has undertaken the stupendous project of rendering the entire Bhagavata, the great devotional classic of India, into English. His edition is learning blended with devotional feeling and inspired by a definite purpose of communicating the intense Iyrical and devotional quality of the Bhagavata. Srila Prabhupada has done an excellent service by his able rendition of ‘the abode of divine joy’ that theBhagavata is.”

Dr. Mahesh Mehta, Professor of Asian Studies

University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada

“It is axiomatic that no book can be expected entirely to satisfy all its potential readers. Here is one, however, which can be said to come remarkably close to that ideal… we have here the ideal of what an edition of a Sanskrit text for a Western audience should be.”

Dr. R. E. Asher, Professor of Linguistics

University of Edinburgh

“For those who have no access to the Sanskrit language, these books convey, in superb manner, the message of the Bhagavatam. In addition to being a scholarly work, it directly reflects the spiritual aspirations of a religious community which has gained considerable popularity in modern America.”

Dr. Alaka Hejib, Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies

Harvard University

“Srimad-Bhagavatam is a valuable source material and cannot but be attractive to serious students and scholars of religion and philosophy. I recommend this series, to anyone, as an important and useful reference work.”

Dr. C. P. Agrawal, Chairwoman

Department of Humanities, University of Michigan

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta

“I am most happy to have these handsomely printed volumes which embody the work of so learned and sincere a believer in the message of the Caritamrta. I thank you.”

Dr. Daniel H. H. Ingalls, Chairman

Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies

Harvard University

“The appearance of an English translation of Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami’s SriCaitanya-caritamrta by A.C. Bhaktivedanta [Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krsna Consciousness] is a cause for celebration among both scholars in Indian studies and lay-people seeking to enrich their knowledge of Indian spirituality. It will fill a most serious lacuna in our libraries and in our courses on the religious traditions of India.

“For the first time we possess a readily accessible edition for this great religious classic that will provide opportunity for scholars in Indian literature and followers of the Krsna consciousness tradition alike to compare the original text with a modern English translation and become acquainted with the deeper spiritual meaning of this work through the learned commentary of Sri Bhaktivedanta.

“Anyone who gives a close reading to the commentary will sense that here, as in his other works, Sri Bhaktivedanta has combined a healthy mixture of the fervent devotion and aesthetic sensitivity of a devotee and the intellectual rigor of a textual scholar. At no point does the author allow the intended meaning of the text to be eclipsed by the promotion of a particular doctrinal persuasion.

“These exquisitely wrought volumes will be a welcome addition to the libraries of all persons who are committed to the study of Indian spirituality and religious literature, whether their interests are sparked by the motivations of the scholar, the devotee or the general reader.”

Dr. J. Bruce Long, Department of Asian Studies

Cornell University

“It is a remarkable document of great historical and sociological importance, giving a picturesque presentation of the socio-religious climate in the India of Sri Caitanya’s times and the far-reaching social and religious changes wrought by him. As a literary piece, it is regarded as a work of great merit, having no parallel in the whole of Bengali literature. As a religious text, its sanctity is comparable to that of the Bhagavad-gita.

“This English edition translated by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is superb. It contains the original Sanskrit and Bengali verses with their English transliteration, synonyms, translation and elaborate purports, easily bearing testimony to the author’s profound knowledge of the subject.”

Dr. O.B.L. Kapoor, Emeritus Chairman and Professor

Department of Philosophy

Government Postgraduate College, Gyanpur, India

“It is a genuine joy to have this momentous biographical work on the life of Bengal’s great saint Caitanya, prepared by his best-known modern interpreter, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.”

Dr. Mark Juergensmeyer

Associate Professor of Ethics and the Phenomenology of Religions

Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California

“Year by year, interest in Eastern religious thought and philosophy grows in America. The editing and translating of the important Sri Caitanya-caritamrtawill make a substantial contribution to those who seek information about Indian concepts.”

Dr. Gerald A. Larue, Professor of Religion

University of Southern California

“I can recommend Sri Caitanya-caritamrta as a source of rich insights for every serious student of consciousness.”

Dr. Rory O’Day, Department of Human Relations

University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Other Major Writings by Srila Prabhupada

“Teachings of Lord Caitanya is an authentic and lucid account, in English, of the life and philosophy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The spiritual movement initiated by ‘the Great Master’ five hundred years ago has profoundly influenced millions of men and women in India ever since, and is presently making its mark throughout the world.

“Sri A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the present spiritual master of the movement in disciplic succession, has done a great service to the English-speaking world by making this spiritual treasure available in English.”

Dr. K. L. Seshagiri Rao, Professor of Religious Studies

University of Virginia

“Krsna is an important book both for the new student of the history of religions and for the professional scholar. It is a helpful and significant contribution to the growing phenomenon of interest in the religions of Asia.”

William A. Johnson, Professor of Philosophy

Brandeis University

“The book Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead should prove to be an important addition to materials available for college courses in religion. It is one of the best sources in English for gaining insight into the bhakti religious tradition.”

Louis Roberts, Executive Chairman

Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures,

Syracuse University

“The Perfection ofYoga is most useful for anyone wishing to understand the meaning of yoga. It also introduces the student to the study of Bhagavad-gitaand shows how direct and simple, yet in another sense, how profoundly complex is the path of spiritual growth through yoga practice. It is a scholarly book, yet has a direct personal meaning for all — a powerful combination.”

Dr. Frank Ledwith, Professor of Psychology

University of St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland

“I think the best feature of the Hare Krsna movement is that it is providing scholars with excellent translations of the rarest books on Krsna-bhakti.”

Dr. Lawrence Shinn, Professor of Religion

Oberlin College

“I have read Sri Bhaktivedanta Swami’s books with great care, attention and profound interest, and have found them to be of incalculable value to anyone who is curious about India’s spiritual and cultural heritage. The author of these books displays on every page an astounding scholarship in the subjects treated, and also an understanding and ease of exposition of abstruse ideas, which are rarest gifts.”

Dr. H. B. Kulkarni, Professor of English and Philosophy

Utah State University

“The publications of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust are very valuable documents and will no doubt become classics for the English reader of Indian religious literature.”

Dr. Jerry M. Chance, Chairman

Department of Philosophy and Religion, Florida A&M University

“These books are not only beautiful, but also relevant to our times, as we as a nation search for new cultural patterns for our way of life.”

Today we celebrate the Appearance of Lord Vamanadeva, the fifteenth Incarnation, wherin Krsna assumed the form of a dwarf brahmana. We are posting a lecture given by Srila Prabhupada on Sept 24th, 1972, on the Srimad Bhagavatam telling the story of Bali Maharaja and Lord Vamanadeva.

“In the fifteenth incarnation, the Lord assumed the form of a dwarf brāhmaṇa, Vāmana, and visited the arena of sacrifice arranged by Mahārāja Bali. Although at heart He was willing to regain the kingdom of the three planetary systems, He simply asked for a donation of three steps of land.” [SB 1.3.19]

“In the fifteenth incarnation, the Lord assumed the form of a dwarf brāhmaṇa, Vāmana, and visited the arena of sacrifice arranged by Mahārāja Bali. Although at heart He was willing to regain the kingdom of the three planetary systems, He simply asked for a donation of three steps of land.”

So Bali Mahārāja, he was the grandson of Prahlāda Mahārāja. They were in the demon’s family. But in the demon’s family also, there is sometimes Prahlāda Mahārāja, Bali Mahārāja. Prahlāda and Bali, they are our ācāryas. There are twelve bona fide ācāryas. Balir vaiyāsakir vayam. The ācāryas are mentioned, dvādaśa-mahājanāḥ. Svayambhū. Svayambhū means Lord Brahmā.

[aside:] Don’t make sound.

Svayambhū, Nārada. Nārada is also one of the authorities. They have been accepted at authority for understanding religious principles. Religious principle is not to be understood by…, from a rascal, no, that anyone comes and says religious topics. No. We have to receive it from the authority.

So Bali Mahārāja is one of the authority. Out of the twelve authorities, first is Lord Brahmā; the next, Nārada; the next, Lord Śiva; then next, the Kumāras; then Kapiladeva; then Manu, Vaivasvata Manu; then Prahlāda Mahārāja; then Janaka Mahārāja; then Bhīṣmadeva; then Bali Mahārāja; then Śukadeva Gosvāmī; and then Yamarāja. It is stated in the śāstra that mahājano yena gataḥ panthāḥ [Cc. Madhya 17.186].

You cannot understand transcendental subject matter simply by dry speculation and argument. You cannot understand. Neither by reading Vedic literature. The conclusion is that you have to follow those who are authorities. Mahājano yena… Dharmasya tattvaṁ nihitaṁ guhāyāṁ mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ [Cc. Madhya 17.186]. Guhā. Guhā means the cave, mountain cave, and guhā means the heart. So suppose something is very valuable is there in the cave of the mountain, and you do not know how to search it out. But if you know somebody who knows it, if you follow him, that “He is going there, so I may also follow…”

So religious principles cannot be manufactured, neither it can be made by speculation. So actually, there cannot be many religion. The rascal theory that “There are as many religious system as I can believe. You believe something, that’s all right. I believe something, that’s all right. He believes something, that’s all right,” no. It is not like that. Then everyone will believe like any nonsense thing, that becomes religion? No. Religion means dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam [SB 6.3.19]. Religion means the codes, the laws, given by God. That is religion.

Man cannot manufacture. I have several times explained. Just like law, state law. The state law can be given by the government. You cannot manufacture law. Nobody will care for your law. The state law is that “You must keep right your car. As soon as there is red light, you must stop.” If you violate, you will be punished, although it is very simple thing. Similarly, religion means the law of God. You cannot violate it. If you violate, then you will be punished. If you think that “This religious system is very stiff. Let me manufacture my own religion,” so that kind of religion is not accepted by the Vedic culture.

And when actually the real religion is violated… Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati… [Bg. 4.7]. Glāniḥ means violation. Tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham. At that time the Supreme Lord or His representative comes to establish real religion. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā = dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge [Bg. 4.8]. Dharma-saṁsthā… Real religious principle. Real religious principle means to abide by the laws of the Supreme Lord, God. But they do not believe in God. Everyone is God. I am God, you are God, he is God, everyone is God. So whatever law you give yourself, that becomes your religion. This is going on.

So God is not so cheap that you become God, I become God, he becomes God. The śāstra says, kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam [SB 1.3.28]. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ. God is Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, the original God. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda [Bs. 5.1]. God, Kṛṣṇa, also says in the Bhagavad-gītā, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat [Bg. 7.7] = “There is no superior authority than Me.”

The Vedānta-sūtra also says, janmādy asya yataḥ [SB 1.1.1] = the original source of everything. Who is that original source? God. Who is that God? Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says, ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate [Bg. 10.8] = “I am the origin of everything.” Iti matvā bhajante māṁ budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ. “Those who are budha…” Budha means one who knows, one who is in the knowledge. Bhāva-samanvitāḥ. Bhāva-samanvitāḥ, knowing everything in ecstasy, “Oh, here is God.” Budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ.

So everything is there. God is there. His name is there. His address is there. His law is there. Everything is there. But the rascals will not accept it. That is the position. Therefore we have to follow the mahājana. So Bali Mahārāja is one of the mahājana. How he became mahājana? Because he’s surrendering fully unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this Vāmanadeva, incarnation of…, keśava dhṛta-vāmana-rūpa.

So the incident is that Bali Mahārāja was very powerful, and he conquered the whole universe, even the demigods, all. So Viṣṇu is always in favor of the demigods because demigods, they are also devotees. The difference between sura and asura… Asura means envious of the demigods. That is called asura. Sura-dviṣa. The another name of the asura, “those who are envious of devotees.” That is only business.

There are two classes of men are always there. Sometimes one class is more in number, and other class is more in number. That is… But two classes. Dvau bhūta-sargau loke [Bg. 16.6]. “There are two classes of men, living entities.” Daiva āsura eva ca. “One is called daiva, demigods, and the other is called āsura.” So who is daiva? Viṣṇu-bhakto bhaved daiva: “Those who are devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṇu, they are called demigods, or Vaiṣṇava.” All Vaiṣṇavas are demigods. And those who are not… Āsuras tad viparyayaḥ. “Anyone opposite number, against Viṣṇu, they are all called asuras.“

So sometimes in asura’s family also, there are Vaiṣṇavas, by the grace of Nārada. Nārada makes… Just like Prahlāda Mahārāja became a great devotee by the grace of Nārada, although he was born of a father, atheist father, Hiraṇyakaśipu. So Nārada Muni’s business is to travel all over the universe and make Vaiṣṇava. So this Bali Mahārāja, he conquered all over the universe, and the demigods were defeated. So Vāmanadeva, He also one of the considered demigods, Upendra.

So He went to Bali Mahārāja by a trick. Because Bali Mahārāja… Kṛṣṇa knows that Bali Mahārāja was the grandson of Prahlāda Mahārāja, and he was a great devotee at heart. He knew that. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe ‘rjuna tiṣṭhati [Bg. 18.61]. Lord is situated in everyone’s heart. He knows everyone. So therefore, in order to return back the kingdoms taken from the demigods, He made a trick. He went there. Bali Mahārāja was performing a great sacrifice, Bali-dhare.[?] So He went there and asked Bali Mahārāja, “Bali Mahārāja, you are performing such a great sacrifice. I am at your door. I am brāhmaṇa. Will you kindly give Me some donation?” “Yes, why not? That is my… I will give you. Whatever You want, I will give You.”

So immediately his spiritual master, the demon’s spiritual master Śukrācārya… Śukrācārya means… Śukra means semina, seminal ācārya. Means… You do not know. In India, there is a class of men, they are called gurus, the professional guru, rather. So Śukrācārya. Śukrācārya, he was very learned scholar. He knew everything, that “Here Vāmanadeva, He is incarnation of Viṣṇu. He has come to cheat Bali. He will ask something, and then He will take everything from Bali.” He knew it. So sometimes cheating also done by the Supreme Lord for the sake of the devotee.

So this is not cheating. Just like father sometimes cheats a son. Suppose something is there, and two brothers, small children, they are fighting. One has taken, another is crying. So the one will not deliver to the other. So father says, “My dear child, will you kindly give me this?” So he gives to the father and he delivers to the other child. [laughter] You see?

So sometimes God has to do such cheating of affection. That is not cheating actually. But the cheating propensity is there in God. Otherwise where we get it? [laughter] But we use cheating for our personal sense gratification. But if you use that cheating propensity for Kṛṣṇa’s satisfaction, then it is all right. Manimiti kṛtaṁ pāpaṁ puṇyāyaiva kalpate.[?]

So the Bali Mahārāja was cheated by… But he, being cheated, he became conqueror. So this Śukrācārya said to Bali Mahārāja, “Don’t promise to this Vāmana anything. He is Lord Viṣṇu. He has come to cheat you.” Bali Mahārāja became more enlightened = “Oh, He is Lord Viṣṇu? But you have taught me that everything should be given to Viṣṇu. So if Viṣṇu has come at my door, why you are asking not to make any promise?” So that means Śukrācārya were playing duplicity. He taught something, and now he’s saying another thing. Therefore Bali Mahārāja said that “I cannot accept. I give up your company from this day,” that “You are checking me to offer everything to Viṣṇu? Oh, I do not want such spiritual master.”

So that means… That is the śāstric injunction, that anyone who is not a Viṣṇu devotee, or Vaiṣṇava, he cannot become guru. That is the injunction of the śāstra. Ṣaṭ-karma-nipuṇo vipro mantra-tantra-viśāradaḥ [Padma Purāṇa]. A brāhmaṇa, very learned, he knows his duties, brahminical duties, very well. Just like Śukrācārya. Ṣaṭ-karma-nipuṇaḥ.

Ṣaṭ-karma-nipuṇaḥ. Brāhmaṇa have got six kinds of occupation = paṭhana-pāṭhana yajana-yājana dāna-pratigraha. Brāhmaṇa should be very learned, he should teach others also Vedic knowledge, paṭhana-pāṭhana. Yajana-yājana. He must be a devotee or great worshiper, and he should teach others also how to worship. Yajana-yājana. Dāna-pratigraha. He will accept charity from others, and he will give in charity again to others. These are the six occupation of a brāhmaṇa.

So śāstra says, ṣaṭ-karma-nipuṇo vipraḥ: “A brāhmaṇa, well conversed with these duties of brahminical duties,” and mantra-tantra-viśāradaḥ, “and expert in studying the mantras, Vedic mantras, and tantra, other Vedic literature,” avaiṣṇavo gurur na sa syāt, “but if he is avaiṣṇava,” means he does not worship Lord Viṣṇu but other demigods, “then he cannot become guru.” That is not allowed. You cannot become guru. Ṣaṭ-karma-nipuṇo vipro mantra…

So this Śukrācārya, he was against Viṣṇu. So Bali Mahārāja immediately rejected him. Therefore he became a mahājana, exemplary. Because you cannot give up your spiritual master. That is a great sin. Once accepted, the spiritual master takes responsibility for the disciple. And disciple also must be obedient to the spiritual master for life, for good. That is the relationship.

So if one rejects spiritual master, he becomes a great sinner, most sinful. So Bali Mahārāja rejected his spiritual master. That’s a great sin. But he rejected on śāstric ground, because he objected for Viṣṇu worship. Therefore such spiritual master should be rejected. Should be rejected. Therefore he became mahājana, authority.

Anyone who is obstruction to worship the Supreme Lord, he should be rejected immediately. That is bhakti. Ānukūlyasya saṅkalpa prātikūlyam varjanam. Anything favorable for advancement of Kṛṣṇa consciousness should be accepted; anything unfavorable, that should be rejected. This is śaraṇāgati. Ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanam [Cc. Madhya 19.167].

We have to worship Kṛṣṇa, whatever is favorable. It is not that because the microphone is material, therefore I cannot use it. There are some so-called transcendentalists… Why not? If I speak through the microphone, I can serve better Kṛṣṇa. Why shall I not accept it? So ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanam: anything which is favorable for serving Kṛṣṇa, we shall accept. After all, everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam [Īśo mantra 1]. Nothing belongs to you. Simply we are thieves. We are using Kṛṣṇa’s property for our own sense gratification. Stena eva sa ucyate [Bg. 3.12]. All thieves.

So just like this Bali Mahārāja, he conquered. So actually nothing belongs to Bali Mahārāja, but he thought… So Kṛṣṇa, to save him from this theft criminality, He approached him, “My dear Bali Mahārāja, will you kindly give Me three feet land?” So he, after rejecting his spiritual master, who opposed, he promised, “Yes, I shall give.”

So by one feet the whole lower portion of the universe was covered. The other feet, the upper portion of the universe was covered. Still, the third feet remained. So Vāmanadeva asked, “Now, Bali Mahārāja, all your possession is now covered by My two feet. Where is to keep the other feet?” Bali Mahārāja said, “Yes, there is place. You just put Your feet…, foot on my head.”

So in this way Bali Mahārāja surrendered everything. Sarvātma-svāpateyam. He, personal property and the personal body, everything dedicated to Kṛṣṇa. He became mahājana. There are nine processes of bhakti:

So Bali Mahārāja dedicated ātma-nivedana, everything = his property, his personal body, everything. So in exchange, Vāmana, Lord Vāmana became his doorkeeper. So Vāmanadeva said, “My dear Bali Mahārāja, you are so great a devotee. So in return for your service, I shall remain always your doorkeeper.”

So by offering everything to Kṛṣṇa, nobody is loser. You must always remem… They are gainer, the best gainer. Because after all, everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa. Why should we foolishly say, “It is mine. It is mine”? Ahaṁ mameti [SB 5.5.8]. Janasya moho ‘yam. This is called illusion. Nothing belongs to me, but I think that “This is mine, this is mine, this is mine.” The whole world is going on like that. Ahaṁ mameti. “We are Americans,” “We are Indians,” “This belongs to me,” “That belongs to you.” We make such, I mean to say, shareholder. But shareholder for other’s property.

Everything belongs to God. Not only this world—there are many millions and millions of planets. Sarva-loka-maheśvaram. Loka means planet. Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-loka-maheśvaram. Bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka… [Bg. 5.29]. He is the proprietor. But we are dividing = “This is American,” “This is Indian.” But how long you will remain American and Indian? Say, fifty years? Then if you are going to be a dog, then who is saving your country? This is going on. Nothing belongs to us.

Accept everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa, and we are all offspring of Kṛṣṇa. Everyone has got the right to father’s property, but not to encroach others’ property. Tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā mā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam [Īśo mantra 1]. If people accept this philosophy, then the whole world becomes Vaikuṇṭha. There is no quarrel. There is no… Everything becomes happy.

As we are celebrating the appearance day of Srimati Radharani, otherwise known as Radhastami, I was reminded of the transcendental qualities of Srimati Radharani. She has twenty-five transcendental qualities, and She can control even Krsna by them.

Today marks the Appearance of Srimati Radharani. We honor it with a half day fast, puspanjali, discussion on the glories of Srimati Radharani, followed by a feast.

The following are just a few of the many quotes from Srila Prabhupada which encourage us to approach Krishna through the mercy of Srimati Radharani, Krishna’s eternal consort. For those of us who feel that there is no hope of making spiritual progress in this lifetime, Srimati Radharani, Who is compassion personified, kindly comes to our rescue if we can humbly invoke Her divine blessings.

tapta-kancana-gaurangi radhe vrndavanesvari

vrsabhanu-sute devi pranamami hari-priye

“I offer my respects to Radharani whose bodily complexion is like molten gold and who is the Queen of Vrndavana. You are the daughter of King Vrsabhanu, and You are very dear to Lord Krishna.”

(Sri Radha Pranama)

“So this is our philosophy, to please Krishna through Radharani, and just today is the auspicious day of Radharani appearance. So we should offer puspanjali and pray to Radharani that ‘Radharani, kindly be merciful and tell about me to Your Krishna. To Your Krishna. Krishna is Yours.’ Krishna, Radha-Krishna. Krishna is not independent. Krishna is Radharani’s property. So you have to approach Krishna through Radharani. That is, today is the auspicious day. Worship Radharani very nicely and be happy.”

(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, September 5, 1973)

“The beauty of Srimati Radharani’s eyes forcibly devours the beauty of newly grown blue lotus flowers, and the beauty of Her face surpasses that of an entire forest of fully blossomed lotuses. Her bodily luster seems to place even gold into a painful situation. Thus the wonderful, unprecedented beauty of Srimati Radharani is awakening in Vrindavana.”

(Caitanya-caritamritaAntya 1.169)

“I emphatically say to you, O brothers, you will obtain your good fortune from the Supreme Lord Krishna only when Srimati Radharani becomes pleased with you.”

(Prayer to the Lotus Feet of Krishna, September 13, 1965)

“Actually, because Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it is very difficult to approach Him. But the devotees, taking advantage of His compassionate nature, which is represented by Radharani, always pray to Radharani for Krishna’s compassion.”

(Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 22)

“Krishna, everyone is trying to love Krishna, but Krishna is trying to love somebody. Now how great She is. Just try to understand. Everyone, the whole world, the whole universe, all living entities, they are trying to love Krishna,krsna-prema. Lord Caitanya describes, prema-pumartho mahan. And Rupa Gosvami described that ‘You are distributing krsna-prema.’ So krsna-prema is so valuable, but Krishna is after Radharani. Just see how Radharani is great. Just try to understand the greatness of Radharani. Therefore She is so great, and we have to offer our respect.”

“Radharani can deliver Krishna. She is so great a devotee, the emblem of maha-bhagavata. Even Krishna cannot understand the quality of Radharani’s devotion. Although Krishna says vedaham samatitani — ‘I know everything’ — He fails to understand Radharani. Radharani is so great.”

(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, September 18, 1969)

“I am very much indebted to my father, for he took care of me in such a way that I became perfectly Krishna conscious. My father used to receive many saintly persons at our home, and to every one of them he used to say, ‘Kindly bless my son so that he may become a servant of Radharani.’ That was his only ambition.”

(Srila Prabhupada Conversation, October, 1973)

“I emphatically say to you, O brothers, you will obtain your good fortune from the Supreme Lord Krishna only when Srimati Radharani becomes pleased with you.”

(Prayer to the Lotus Feet of Krishna, September 13, 1965)

“Of all the young girls, Radha is the most beautiful. She always dresses so nicely that Damodara is attracted by Her beauty. If you go to Vrindavan you will find everyone worshiping Radharani. All the devotees in Vrindavan worship Radharani. The pure devotees pray to Radharani, ‘O my worshipable Radharani! You are so full of mercy. I am begging for Your mercy.'”

(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, September 18, 1969)

“Yes, the bumblebee is very much favored by Krishna and Radharani. Sometimes the bumblebee is taken as a messenger by Radharani and she rebukes the bumblebee because the bumblebee is blackish and Krishna is also blackish. Still, in spite of all rebuking, the bumblebee tried always to touch the Lotus Feet of Radharani. Therefore the bumblebee is to be offered our all reverence and respect.”

(Srila Prabhupada Letter, June 15, 1971)

“Radharani is hari-priya, ‘very dear to Krishna.’ Through the mercy of Radharani we can easily approach Krishna. If Radharani recommends, ‘This devotee is very nice,’ then Krishna immediately accepts me, however great a fool I may be. Because I am recommended by Radharani, Krishna accepts me. Therefore in Vrndavana you’ll find all the devotees chanting Radharani’s name more than Krishna’s. Wherever you’ll go, you’ll find the devotees greeting one another, ‘Jaya Radhe!’ You’ll find this still in Vrndavana. The devotees are glorifying Radharani. If you go by the speculative process to understand Krishna, it will take many, many lives. But if you take to devotional service and just try to please Radharani, Krishna will be gotten very easily.”

(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, September 18, 1969)

“Radha is one who gives pleasure to Govinda, and She is also the enchantress of Govinda. She is the be-all and end-all of Govinda, and the crest jewel of all His consorts.”

(Caitanya-caritamrtaAdi 4.82)

“Srimati Radharani is the center of all Vrindavana’s activities. In Vrindavana, Krishna is the instrument of Srimati Radharani; therefore all the inhabitants of Vrindavana still chant ‘Jaya Radhe!’ From Krishna’s own statement given herein, it appears that Radharani is the Queen of Vrindavana and that Krishna is simply Her decoration.”

(Caitanya-caritamritaMadhya 13.150, Purport)

“Radharani is presented, the original pleasure potency, always absorbed in thought of Krishna. So anyone who comes before Radharani to serve Krishna, oh, She becomes so pleased, ‘Oh, here is a devotee of Krishna.’ She immediately recommends, ‘Krishna, oh, here is a devotee. He is better than Me.’ This is Radharani. I may be a, not devotee. I may be most fallen rascal. But if I try to reach Krishna through Radharani, then my business is successful. Therefore we should worship Radharani first. That is our business. Instead of offering directly one flower to Krishna, you just put it in the hands of Radharani: ‘My mother Radharani, Jagan-mata, if you kindly take this flower and offer it to Krishna.’ ‘Oh,’ Radharani says, ‘Oh, you have brought a flower?’ Krishna said, patram puspam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayaccati (Bg. 9.26), but don’t try to offer Krishna directly. Just offer through Radharani. It will be very much appreciated by Radharani.”

(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, September 5, 1973)

“Krishna attracts everyone, but devotional service attracts even Krishna. The symbol of devotional service in the highest degree is Radharani. Krishna is called Madana-mohana, which means that He is so attractive that He can defeat the attraction of thousands of Cupids. But Radharani is still more attractive, for She can even attract Krishna. Therefore devotees call Her Madana-mohana-mohani — the attractor of the attractor of Cupid.”

(Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 1)

“The word Hare is a form of addressing the energy of the Lord, and the words Krishna and Rama are forms of directly addressing the Lord Himself. Both Krishna and Rama mean ‘the highest pleasure.’ Hara is the supreme pleasure potency of the Lord. This potency, addressed as Hare, helps us in reaching the Supreme Lord.”

(On Chanting Hare Krishna)

“O Radha! O beloved of Madhava! O you are worshiped by all the young girls of Gokula! All glories unto You! All glories unto You!”

(Sri Radhika-stava chorus by Srila Rupa Gosvami)

“Among the gopis, Srimati Radhika is the foremost. She surpasses all in beauty, good qualities, in good fortune, and, above all, in love.”

(Caitanya-caritamrtaAdi 4.214)

“Without energy, there is no meaning to the energetic, and without the energetic there is no meaning to the energy. Similarly, without Radha there is no meaning to Krishna and without Krishna there is no meaning to Radha. Because of this, the Vaisnava philosophy first of all pays obeisances to and worships the internal pleasure potency of the Supreme Lord. Thus the Lord and His potency are always referred to as Radha-Krishna. Similarly those who worship Narayana first utter the name of Laksmi, as Laksmi-Narayana. Similarly those who worship Lord Rama first utter the name of Sita. In any case — Sita-Rama, Radha-Krishna, Laksmi-Narayana– the potency always comes first.”

(Caitanya-caritamrta, Introduction)

“The transcendental goddess Srimati Radharani is the direct counter-part of Lord Sri Krishna. She is the central figure for all the goddesses of fortune. She possesses all the attractiveness to attract the all-attractive Personality of Godhead. She is the primeval internal potency of the Lord.”

(Caitanya-caritamrtaAdi 4.83)

“It is very simple. Hare means, ‘O energy of the Lord,’ and Krishna means, ‘O Lord Krishna.’ Just as there are males and females in the material world, similarly, God is the original male (purusa), and His energy (prakriti) is the original female. So, when we chant Hare Krishna, we are saying, ‘O Lord Krishna, O energy of Krishna, kindly engage me in Your service.'”

(Science of Self-Realization, Chapter 1)

“Spiritual happiness is anandambudhi-vardhanam, or the ocean of happiness which increases. The material ocean is stagnant, but the spiritual ocean is dynamic. In the Caitanya-caritamrta, (Adi-lila, Fourth Chapter) Kaviraja Gosvami has very nicely described this dynamic increment of the ocean of spiritual happiness in the transcendental person of Srimati Radharani, the pleasure potency of Lord Krishna.”

(Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.6.36, Purport)

“Lord Krishna enchants the world, but Sri Radha enchants even Him. Therefore She is the supreme goddess of all.

“Sri Radha is the full power, and Lord Krishna is the possessor of full power. The two are not different, as evidenced by the revealed scriptures.

“They are indeed the same, just as musk and its scent are inseparable, or as fire and its heat are nondifferent.

“Thus Radha and Lord Krishna are one, yet They have taken two forms to enjoy the mellows of pastimes.”

(Caitanya CaritamritaAdi 4.95-98)

“Srila Bilvamangala Thakur has prayed in his book as follows: ‘Let Srimati Radharani purify the whole world, because She has surrendered Herself completely unto Krishna.'”

(Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 29)

“Sri Krishna continued: ‘All the inhabitants of Vrindavana-dhama — My mother, father, cowherd boy friends and everything else — are like My life and soul. And among all the inhabitants of Vrindavana, the gopis are My very life and soul. Among the gopis, You, Srimati Radharani, are the chief. Therefore You are the very life of My life.'”

(Caitanya-caritamrtaMadhya 13.150)

“In Radharani is found the science of ujjala, or the brightest jewel of love of God.”

(Krishna Book, Chapter 47)

“Krishna is the energetic, and Radharani is the energy. Just like energy and energetic, you cannot separate. Fire and the heat you cannot separate. Wherever there is fire there is heat, and wherever there is heat there is fire. Similarly, wherever there is Krishna there is Radha. And wherever there is Radha there is Krishna. They are inseparable.”

(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, August 30, 1968)

“Among all the gopis, Srimati Radharani is the most exalted. She is the most beautiful, the most qualified and, above all, the greatest lover of Krishna.”

(Caitanya-caritamrtaAdi 4.214, Purport)

“Radharani is the best, topmost servitor of Krishna, and the printing machine is the biggest medium at the present moment for serving Krishna. Therefore it is really a representative of Srimati Radharani.”

(Srila Prabhupada Letter, August 13, 1969)

“Srimati Radharani is the most beautiful, and She always enchants Krishna, but at the same time, Krishna is always the Enchanter of Radharani. This reciprocal attraction of Radharani and Krishna is the basic principal of Lord Caitanya’s philosophy.”

(Srila Prabhupada Letter, May 22, 1969)

“Radha-Krishna. Radha’s name is first. Why? Nobody can be better devotee than Radharani. As soon as Radha’s name is there, Krishna is more pleased. That is the way. If we glorify the devotees, the character of the devotees, before the Lord, He’s more pleased than to glorify Himself, He directly.”

(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, March 24, 1969)

“Lord Krishna’s Pleasure Potency is called Hladini, so this spiritual energy of Krishna’s pleasure potency, Hladini, is Srimati Radharani Who is always increasing the transcendental pleasure of Krishna by Her super-excellent loving devotional service.”

(Srila Prabhupada Letter, March 29, 1970)

“Yes, you are certainly right when you say Radharani cooks prasadam for Lord Krishna. Whenever He returns in the evening from herding cows with His cowherd boy friends, Radharani has a nice preparation waiting for Lord Krishna.”

(Srila Prabhupada Letter, August 5, 1970)

“Krishna likes Radharani. Therefore all the gopis, they are trying to push Radharani to Krishna. ‘Krishna likes this gopi. All right, push Her.’ That is Krishna consciousness. To satisfy the senses of Krishna, not to satisfy my senses. That is bhakti. That is called prema, love for Krishna. ‘Ah, Krishna likes this. I must give Him this.'”

(Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers, Chapter 6)

“The beauty of Srimati Radharani’s eyes forcibly devours the beauty of newly grown blue lotus flowers, and the beauty of Her face surpasses that of an entire forest of fully blossomed lotuses. Her bodily luster seems to place even gold into a painful situation. Thus the wonderful, unprecedented beauty of Srimati Radharani is awakening in Vrindavana.”

(Caitanya-caritamritaAntya 1.169)

“In Vrindavana all the pure devotees pray for the mercy of Srimati Radharani, the pleasure potency of Lord Krishna. Srimati Radharani is a tenderhearted feminine counterpart of the supreme whole, resembling the perfectional stage of the worldly feminine nature. Therefore, the mercy of Radharani is available very readily to the sincere devotees, and once She recommends such a devotee to Lord Krishna, the Lord at once accepts the devotee’s admittance into His association. The conclusion is, therefore, that one should be more serious about seeking the mercy of the devotee than that of the Lord directly, and by one’s doing so (by the good will of the devotee) the natural attraction for the service of the Lord will be revived.”

(Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.23, Purport)

“You’ll find in Vrindavan, if you go to Vrindavan, everyone is worshiping Radharani. Rani means queen. They are always speaking, ‘Jaya Radhe!’ Radharani. All the devotees in Vrindavan, they are worshiper of Radharani. Hari-niskuta-vrnda-vipinese. Vrsabhanu-dadhi-nava-sasi-lekhe. And She appeared as the daughter of King Vrsabhanu, and Her companion, Lalita-sakhi and Visakha-sakhi, and the devotees… So on behalf of the pure devotees of Krishna, Rupa Gosvami is praying, karunam kuru mayi karuna-bharite. ‘Oh, my worshipable Radharani, You are full of mercy. So I am begging of Your mercy because You are so merciful, very easily You offer, bestow Your mercy. So I am begging Your mercy.'”

(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, August 30, 1968)

“There is a supreme symptom of ecstatic love which is called maha-bhava. This mahabhava expression was possible only in Radharani, but later on when Sri Krishna Caitanya appeared to feel the mode of love of Radharani, He also expressed all the symptoms of maha-bhava. Sri Rupa Gosvami says in this connection that when the symptoms of ecstatic love become the most bright, that stage is accepted as mahabhava.”

(Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 28)

“The beauty of Srimati Radharani is described as follows: ‘Her eyes defeat the attractive features of the eyes of the cakori bird. When one sees the face of Radharani, he immediately hates the beauty of the moon. Her bodily complexion defeats the beauty of gold. Thus, let us all look upon the transcendental beauty of Srimati Radharani.'”

(Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 44)

“The photos are very nice, and Radharani looks very satisfied, as I see in the features of Her face in the photo. If She is pleased, then Krishna is pleased, and all living entities are pleased.”

(Srila Prabhupada Letter, November 11, 1973)

“There is no comparison to Radharani’s beauty and the luster of Her transcendental body. The so-called beauty of the moon has fallen on the ground in the presence of Radharani’s beauty.”

(From Vrindavana by Srila Narottama das Thakura)

“Therefore Radha is parama-devata, the supreme goddess, and She is worshipable for everyone. She is the protectress of all, and She is the mother of the entire universe.”

(Caitanya-caritamritaAdi 4.89)

“So this is our philosophy, to please Krishna through Radharani, and just today is the auspicious day of Radharani appearance. So we should offer puspanjali and pray to Radharani that ‘Radharani, kindly be merciful and tell about me to Your Krishna. To Your Krishna. Krishna is Yours.’ Krishna, Radha-Krishna. Krishna is not independent. Krishna is Radharani’s property. So you have to approach Krishna through Radharani. That is, today is the auspicious day. Worship Radharani very nicely and be happy.”

Today all of North America will be treated to an eclipse of the sun. I wanted to get some reference from Srila Prabhupada’s books on some historical events that took place during the rare occasion of a full solar eclipse. One such event took place some 5,000 years ago when Lord Krsna and Balarama meet with the inhabitiants of Vrndabana.

Once upon a time while Lord Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma were living peacefully in Their great city of Dvārakā, there was the rare occasion of a full solar eclipse, such as takes place at the end of every kalpa, or day of Brahmā. At the end of every kalpa the sun is covered by a great cloud, and incessant rain covers the lower planetary systems up to Svargaloka. By astronomical calculation, people were informed about this great eclipse prior to its taking place, and therefore everyone, both men and women, decided to assemble at the holy place in Kurukṣetra known as Samanta-pañcaka.

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The Samanta-pañcaka pilgrimage site is celebrated because Lord Paraśurāma performed great sacrifices there after having killed all the kṣatriyas in the world twenty-one times. Lord Paraśurāma killed all the kṣatriyas, and their accumulated blood flowed like a stream. Lord Paraśurāma dug five big lakes at Samanta-pañcaka and filled them with this blood. Lord Paraśurāma is viṣṇu-tattva. As stated in the Īśopaniṣad, viṣṇu-tattva cannot be contaminated by any sinful activity. Yet although Lord Paraśurāma is fully powerful and uncontaminated, in order to exhibit ideal character, He performed great sacrifices at Samanta-pañcaka to atone for His so-called sinful killing of the kṣatriyas. By His example, Lord Paraśurāma established that the killing art, although sometimes necessary, is not good. Lord Paraśurāma considered Himself culpable for the sinful killing of the kṣatriyas; therefore, how much more are we culpable for such abominable unsanctioned acts. Thus, killing of living entities is prohibited from time immemorial all over the world.

Taking advantage of the occasion of the solar eclipse, all important persons visited the holy place of pilgrimage. Some of the important personalities are mentioned as follows. Among the elderly persons there were Akrūra, Vasudeva and Ugrasena; among the younger generation there were Gada, Pradyumna, Sāmba, and many other members of the Yadu dynasty who had come there with a view to atone for sinful activities accrued in the course of discharging their respective duties. Because almost all the members of the Yadu dynasty went to Kurukṣetra, some important personalities, like Aniruddha, the son of Pradyumna, and Kṛtavarmā, the commander-in-chief of the Yadu dynasty, along with Sucandra, Śuka and Sāraṇa, remained in Dvārakā to protect the city.

All the members of the Yadu dynasty were naturally very beautiful, and yet on this occasion, when they appeared duly decorated with gold necklaces and flower garlands, dressed in valuable clothing and properly armed with their respective weapons, their natural beauty and personalities were a hundred times enhanced. The members of the Yadu dynasty came to Kurukṣetra in their gorgeously decorated chariots resembling the airplanes of the demigods, pulled by big horses that moved like the waves of the ocean, and some of them rode on sturdy, stalwart elephants that moved like the clouds in the sky. Their wives were carried on beautiful palanquins by beautiful men whose features resembled those of the Vidyādharas. The entire assembly looked as beautiful as an assembly of the demigods of heaven.

After arriving in Kurukṣetra, the members of the Yadu dynasty took their baths ceremoniously, with self-control, as enjoined in the śāstras, and they observed fasting for the whole period of the eclipse in order to nullify the reactions of their sinful activities. Since it is a Vedic custom to give in charity as much as possible during the hours of the eclipse, the members of the Yadu dynasty distributed many hundreds of cows in charity to the brāhmaṇas. All those cows were fully decorated with nice dress and ornaments. The special feature of these cows was that they had golden ankle bells and flower garlands on their necks.

All the members of the Yadu dynasty again took their baths in the lakes created by Lord Paraśurāma. After this they sumptuously fed the brāhmaṇas with first-class cooked food, all prepared in butter. According to the Vedic system, there are two classes of food. One is called raw food, and the other is called cooked food. Raw food does not include raw vegetables and raw grains, but food boiled in water; whereas cooked food is made in ghee. Capātīs, dhal, rice and ordinary vegetables are called raw foods, as are fruits and salads. But purīs, kachaurīs, saṅgosas, sweet balls, etc., are called cooked foods. All the brāhmaṇas invited on that occasion by the members of the Yadu dynasty were fed sumptuously with cooked food.

The ceremonial functions performed by the members of the Yadu dynasty externally resembled the ritualistic performances performed by the karmīs. When a karmī performs some ritualistic ceremony, his ambition is sense gratification–good position, good wife, good house, good children or good wealth; but the ambition of the members of the Yadu dynasty was different. Their ambition was to offer perpetual faith and devotion to Kṛṣṇa. All the members of the Yadu dynasty were great devotees. As such, after many births of accumulated pious activities, they were given the chance to associate with Lord Kṛṣṇa. In going to take their baths in the place of pilgrimage at Kurukṣetra while observing the regulative principles during the solar eclipse or feeding the brāhmaṇas–in all their activities–they simply thought of devotion to Kṛṣṇa. Their ideal worshipable Lord was Kṛṣṇa, and no one else.

After feeding the brāhmaṇas, it is the custom for the host, with their permission, to accept prasādam. Thus, with the permission of the brāhmaṇas, all the members of the Yadu dynasty took lunch. Then they selected resting places underneath big, shadowy trees, and when they had taken sufficient rest, they prepared to receive visitors, among whom there were relatives and friends, as well as many subordinate kings and rulers. There were the rulers of the Matsya Province, Uśīnara Province, Kośala Province, Vidarbha Province, Kuru Province, Sṛñjaya Province, Kāmboja Province, Kekaya Province and many other countries and provinces. Some of the rulers belonged to opposing parties, and some were friends. But above all, the visitors from Vṛndāvana were most prominent. The residents of Vṛndāvana, headed by Nanda Mahārāja, had been living in great anxiety because of separation from Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. Taking advantage of the solar eclipse, they all came to see their life and soul, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma.

The inhabitants of Vṛndāvana were well-wishers and intimate friends of the Yadu dynasty. This meeting of the two parties after long separation was a very touching incident. Both the Yadus and the residents of Vṛndāvana felt such great pleasure in meeting and talking together that it was a unique scene. Meeting after long separation, they were all jubilant; their hearts were throbbing, and their faces appeared like freshly bloomed lotus flowers. There were drops of tears falling from their eyes, the hair on their bodies stood on end, and because of their extreme ecstasy, they were temporarily speechless. In other words, they began to dive in the ocean of happiness.

While the men were meeting in that way, the women were also meeting one another in the same manner. They were embracing each other in great friendship, smiling very mildly, and looking at one another with much affection. When they were embracing each other in their arms, the saffron and kuṅkuma spread on their breasts was exchanged from one person to another, and they all felt heavenly ecstasy. Due to such heart-to-heart embracing, torrents of tears glided down their cheeks. The juniors were offering obeisances to the elders, and the elders were offering their blessings to the juniors. They were thus welcoming one another and asked after each other’s welfare. Ultimately, however, all their talk was only of Kṛṣṇa. All the neighbors and relatives were connected with Lord Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes in this world, and as such Kṛṣṇa was the center of all their activities. Whatever activities they performed–social, political, religious or conventional–were transcendental.

The real elevation of human life rests on knowledge and renunciation. As stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in the First Canto, devotional service rendered to Kṛṣṇa automatically produces perfect knowledge and renunciation. The family members of the Yadu dynasty and the cowherd men of Vṛndāvana had their minds fixed on Kṛṣṇa. That is the symptom of all knowledge, and because their minds were always engaged in Kṛṣṇa, they were automatically freed from all material activities. This stage of life is called yukta-vairāgya as enunciated by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. Knowledge and renunciation, therefore, do not mean dry speculation and renunciation of activities. Rather, one must start speaking and acting only in relationship with Kṛṣṇa.

In this meeting at Kurukṣetra, Kuntīdevī and Vasudeva, who were sister and brother, met after a long period of separation, along with their respective sons and daughters-in-law, wives, children and other family members. By talking among themselves, they soon forgot all their past miseries. Kuntīdevī especially addressed her brother Vasudeva as follows: “My dear brother, I am very unfortunate, because not one of my desires has ever been fulfilled; otherwise how could it happen that although I have such a saintly brother as you, perfect in all respects, you did not inquire from me as to how I was passing my days in a distressed condition of life.” It appears that Kuntīdevī was remembering the miserable days when she had been banished along with her sons through the mischievous plans of Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Duryodhana. She continued; “My dear brother, I can understand that when Providence goes against someone, even one’s nearest relatives also forget him. In such a condition, even one’s father, one’s mother or one’s own children will forget him. Therefore, my dear brother, I do not accuse you.”

Vasudeva replied to his sister, “My dear sister, do not be sorry, and do not blame me in that way. We should always remember that we all are only toys in the hands of providence. Everyone is under the control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is under His control only that all kinds of fruitive actions and the resultant reactions take place. My dear sister, you know that we were very much harassed by King Kaṁsa, and by his persecutions we were scattered here and there. We were always full of anxieties. Only in the last few days have we returned to our own places, by the grace of God.”

After this conversation, Vasudeva and Ugrasena received the kings who came to see them, and they sufficiently welcomed them all. Seeing Lord Kṛṣṇa present on the spot, all the visitors felt transcendental pleasure and became very peaceful. Some of the prominent visitors were as follows: Bhīṣmadeva, Droṇācārya, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Duryodhana, and Gāndhārī along with her sons; King Yudhiṣṭhira along with his wife, and the Pāṇḍavas along with Kuntī; Sañjaya, Vidura, Kṛpācārya, Kuntībhoja, Virāṭa, King Nagnajit, Purujit, Drupada, Śalya, Dhṛṣṭaketu, the King of Kāśī, Damaghoṣa, Viśālākṣa, the King of Mithilā, the King of Madras (formerly known as Madra), the King of Kekaya, Yudhāmanyu, Suśarmā, Bāhlika along with his sons, and many other rulers who were subordinate to King Yudhiṣṭhira.

When they saw Lord Kṛṣṇa with His thousands of queens, they became fully satisfied at the sight of such beauty and transcendental opulence. All who were there personally visited Lord Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa, and being properly welcomed by the Lord they began to glorify the members of the Yadu dynasty, especially Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. Because he was the King of the Bhojas, Ugrasena was considered the chief Yadu, and therefore the visitors specifically addressed him: “Your Majesty Ugrasena, King of the Bhojas, factually the Yadus are the only persons within this world who are perfect in all respects. All glories unto you! All glories unto you! The specific condition of your perfection is that you are always seeing Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is sought after by many mystic yogīs undergoing severe austerities and penances for great numbers of years. All of you are in direct touch with Lord Kṛṣṇa at every moment.

”All the Vedic hymns are glorifying the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. The Ganges water is considered sanctified because of its being the water used to wash the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa. The Vedic literatures are nothing but the injunctions of Lord Kṛṣṇa. The purpose of the study of all the Vedas is to know Kṛṣṇa; therefore, the words of Kṛṣṇa and the message of His pastimes are always purifying. By the influence of time and circumstances, all the opulences of this world had become almost completely wiped out, but since Kṛṣṇa has appeared on this planet, all auspicious features have again appeared due to the touch of His lotus feet. Because of His presence, all our ambitions and desires are gradually being fulfilled. Your Majesty, King of the Bhojas, you are related with the Yadu dynasty by matrimonial relationship, and by blood relationship also. As a result, you are constantly in touch with Lord Kṛṣṇa, and you have no difficulty in seeing Him at any time. Lord Kṛṣṇa moves with you, talks with you, sits with you, rests with you, and dines with you. The Yadus appear to be always engaged in worldly affairs which are considered to lead to royal road to hell, but due to the presence of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the original Personality of Godhead in the Viṣṇu category, who is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent, all of you are factually relieved from all material contamination, and are situated in the transcendental position of liberation and Brahman existence.“

When they had heard that Kṛṣṇa would be present in Kurukṣetra because of the solar eclipse, the residents of Vṛndāvana, headed by Mahārāja Nanda, had also decided to go there, and therefore all the members of the Yadu dynasty were attending. King Nanda, accompanied by his cowherd men, had loaded all their necessary paraphernalia on bullock carts, and all of the Vṛndāvana residents had come to Kurukṣetra to see their beloved sons Lord Balarāma and Lord Kṛṣṇa. When the cowherd men of Vṛndāvana arrived in Kurukṣetra, all the members of the Yadu dynasty became most pleased. As soon as they saw the residents of Vṛndāvana, they stood up to welcome them, and it appeared that they had again regained their life. Both had been very eager to meet, and when they actually came forward and met, they embraced one another to their heart’s satisfaction and remained in embrace for a considerable time.

As soon as Vasudeva saw Nanda Mahārāja, he jumped and ran over to him and embraced him very affectionately. Vasudeva began to narrate his past history–how he had been imprisoned by King Kaṁsa, how his babies had been killed, and how immediately after Kṛṣṇa’s birth he had carried Him to the place of Nanda Mahārāja, and how Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma had been raised by Nanda Mahārāja and his queen, Yaśodā, as their own children. Similarly, Lord Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa also embraced King Nanda and mother Yaśodā and then offered Their respect unto their lotus feet by bowing down. Because of Their feeling affection for Nanda and Yaśodā, both Lord Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma became choked up, and for a few seconds They could not speak. The most fortunate King Nanda and mother Yaśodā placed their sons on their laps and began to embrace Them to their full satisfaction. Because of separation from Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, both King Nanda and Yaśodā had been merged in great distress for a very long time. Now, after meeting Them and embracing Them, all their sufferings were mitigated.

After this, Kṛṣṇa’s mother, Devakī, and Balarāma’s mother, Rohiṇī, both embraced mother Yaśodā. They said, ”Dear Queen Yaśodādevī, both you and Nanda Mahārāja have been great friends to us, and when we remember you we are immediately overwhelmed by the thought of your friendly activities. We are so indebted to you that even if we were to return your benediction by giving you the opulence of the King of heaven, it would not be enough to repay you for your friendly behavior. We shall never forget your kindly behavior toward us. When both Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma were born, before They even saw Their real father and mother, They were entrusted to your care, and you raised Them as your own children, fostering Them as birds take care of their offspring in the nest. You have nicely fed, nourished and loved Them and have performed many auspicious religious ceremonies for Their benefit.

“Actually They are not our sons; They belong to you. Nanda Mahārāja and yourself are the real father and mother of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. As long as They were under your care They had not even a pinch of difficulty. Under your protection, They were completely out of the way of all kinds of fear. This most affectionate care which you have taken for Them is completely befitting your elevated position. The most noble personalities do not discriminate between their own sons and the sons of others, and there cannot be any personalities more noble than Nanda Mahārāja and yourself.”

As far as the gopīs of Vṛndāvana were concerned, from the very beginning of their lives, they did not know anything beyond Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma were their life and soul. The gopīs were so attached to Kṛṣṇa that they could not even tolerate not seeing Him momentarily when their eyelids blinked and impeded their vision. They condemned Brahmā, the creator of the body, because he foolishly made eyelids which blinked and checked their seeing Kṛṣṇa. Because they had been separated from Kṛṣṇa for so many years, the gopīs, having come along with Nanda Mahārāja and mother Yaśodā, felt intense ecstasy in seeing Kṛṣṇa. No one can even imagine how anxious the gopīs were to see Kṛṣṇa again. As soon as Kṛṣṇa became visible to them, they took Him inside their hearts through their eyes and embraced Him to their full satisfaction. Even though they were embracing Kṛṣṇa only mentally, they became so ecstatic and overwhelmed with joy that for the time being they completely forgot themselves. The ecstatic trance which they achieved simply by mentally embracing Kṛṣṇa is impossible to achieve even for great yogīs constantly engaged in meditation on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Kṛṣṇa could understand that the gopīs were rapt in ecstasy by embracing Him in their minds, and therefore, since He is present in everyone’s heart, He also reciprocated the embracing from within.

Kṛṣṇa was sitting with mother Yaśodā and His other mothers, Devakī and Rohiṇī, but when the mothers engaged in talking, He took the opportunity and went to a secluded place to meet the gopīs. As soon as He approached the gopīs, the Lord began to smile, and after embracing them and inquiring about their welfare, He began to encourage them, saying, “My dear friends, you know that both Lord Balarāma and Myself left Vṛndāvana just to please Our relatives and family members. Thus We were long engaged in fighting with Our enemies and were obliged to forget you, who were so much attached to Me in love and affection. I can understand that by this action I have been ungrateful to you, but still I know you are faithful to Me. May I inquire if you have been thinking of Us although We had to leave you behind? My dear gopīs, do you now dislike remembering Me, considering Me to have been ungrateful to you? Do you take My misbehavior with you very seriously?

”After all, you should know it was not My intention to leave you; our separation was ordained by Providence, who after all is the supreme controller and does as He desires. He causes the intermingling of different persons, and again disperses them as He desires. Sometimes we see that due to the presence of clouds and strong wind, atomic particles of dust and broken pieces of cotton are intermingled together, and after the strong wind subsides, all the particles of dust and cotton are again separated, scattered in different places. Similarly, the Supreme Lord is the creator of everything. The objects which we see are different manifestations of His energy. By His supreme will we are sometimes united and sometimes separated. We can therefore conclude that ultimately we are absolutely dependent on His will.

“Fortunately, you have developed loving affection for Me, which is the only way to achieve the transcendental position of association with Me. Any living entity who develops such unalloyed devotional affection for Me certainly at the end goes back to home, back to Godhead. In other words, unalloyed devotional service and affection for Me are the cause of supreme liberation.

”My dear gopī friends, you may know from Me that it is My energies only which are acting everywhere. Take, for example, an earthen pot. It is nothing but a combination of earth, water, air, fire and sky. It is always of the same physical composites, whether in its beginning, during its existence or after its annihilation. When it is created, the earthen pot is made of earth, water, fire, air and sky; while it remains, it is the same in composition; and when it is broken and annihilated, its different ingredients are conserved in different parts of the material energy. Similarly, at the creation of this cosmic manifestation, during its maintenance, and after its dissolution, everything is but a different manifestation of My energy. And because the energy is not separate from Me, it is to be concluded that I am existing in everything.

“In the same way, the body of a living being is nothing but a composition of the five elements, and the living entity embodied in the material condition is also part and parcel of Me. The living entity is imprisoned in the material condition on account of his false conception of himself as the supreme enjoyer. This false ego of the living entity is the cause of his imprisonment in material existence. As the Supreme Absolute Truth, I am transcendental to the living entity, as well as to his material embodiment. The two energies, material and spiritual, are both acting under My supreme control. My dear gopīs, I request that instead of being so afflicted, you try to accept everything with a philosophical attitude. Then you will understand that you are always with Me and that there is no cause of lamentation in our being separated from one another.”

This important instruction of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s to the gopīs can be utilized by all devotees engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The whole philosophy is considered on the basis of inconceivable, simultaneous oneness and difference. In Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says that He is present everywhere in His impersonal feature. Everything is existing in Him, but still He is not personally present everywhere. The cosmic manifestation is nothing but a display of Kṛṣṇa’s energy, and because the energy is not different from the energetic, nothing is different from Kṛṣṇa. When this absolute consciousness, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is absent, we are separated from Kṛṣṇa; but fortunately, if this Kṛṣṇa consciousness is present, then we are not separated from Kṛṣṇa. The process of devotional service is the revival of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and if the devotee is fortunate enough to understand that the material energy is not separate from Kṛṣṇa, then he can utilize the material energy and its products in the service of the Lord. But in the absence of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the forgetful living entity, although part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, falsely puts himself in the position of enjoyer of the material world and, being thus implicated in material entanglement, is forced by the material energy to continue his material existence. This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā. Although a living entity is forced to act by the material energy, he falsely thinks that he is the all-in-all and the supreme enjoyer.

If the devotee knows perfectly that the arcā-vigraha, or Deity form of Lord Kṛṣṇa in the temple, is exactly the same sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha as Kṛṣṇa Himself, then his service to the temple Deity becomes direct service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Similarly, the temple itself, the temple paraphernalia and the food offered to the Deity are also not separate from Kṛṣṇa. One has to follow the rules and regulations prescribed by the ācāryas, and thus, under superior guidance, Kṛṣṇa-realization is fully possible, even in this material existence.

The gopīs, having been instructed by Kṛṣṇa in this philosophy of simultaneous oneness and difference, remained always in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and thus became liberated from all material contamination. The consciousness of the living entity who falsely presents himself as the enjoyer of the material world is called jīva-kośa, which means imprisonment by the false ego. Not only the gopīs but anyone who follows these instructions of Kṛṣṇa becomes immediately freed from the jīva-kośa imprisonment. A person in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness is always liberated from false egoism; he utilizes everything for Kṛṣṇa’s service and is not at any time separated from Kṛṣṇa.

The gopīs therefore prayed to Kṛṣṇa, “Dear Kṛṣṇa, from Your navel emanated the original lotus flower which is the birthsite of Brahmā, the creator. No one can estimate Your glories or Your opulence, which therefore remain always a mystery even to the highest thoughtful men, the masters of all yogic power. The conditioned soul fallen in the dark well of this material existence can very easily, however, take shelter of the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Thus his deliverance is guaranteed.” The gopīs continued: “Dear Kṛṣṇa, we are always busy in our family affairs. We therefore request that You remain within our hearts as the rising sun, and that will be Your greatest benediction.”

The gopīs are always liberated souls, because they are fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They only pretended to be entangled in household affairs in Vṛndāvana. In spite of their long separation, the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, the gopīs, were not interested in the idea of going with Kṛṣṇa to His capital city, Dvārakā. They wanted to remain busy in Vṛndāvana and thus feel the presence of Kṛṣṇa in every step of their lives. They immediately invited Kṛṣṇa to come back to Vṛndāvana. This transcendental emotional existence of the gopīs is the basic principle of Lord Caitanya’s teaching. The Ratha-yātrā festival observed by Lord Caitanya is the emotional process of taking Kṛṣṇa back to Vṛndāvana. Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī refused to go with Kṛṣṇa to Dvārakā to enjoy His company in the atmosphere of royal opulence, for She wanted to enjoy His company in the original Vṛndāvana atmosphere. Lord Kṛṣṇa, being profoundly attached to the gopīs, never goes away from Vṛndāvana, and the gopīs and other residents of Vṛndāvana remain fully satisfied in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Eighty-second Chapter of Kṛṣṇa, “Lord Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma Meet the Inhabitants of Vṛndāvana.”

We celebrate it with a half day fast, offerings, puspanjali, followed by a Srila Prabhupada Feast

Vyasa Puja Homage
by Vyasasan das

Dear Srila Prabhupada

On this Blessed day, we celebrate your auspicious appearance it this material world. It is with deep heartfelt gratitude, I offer my humble obeisances at your Divine Lotus feet.

Where would I be today with out you? You have given me the most matchless, most priceless gift anyone has ever given to me. You have given me Krsna. You have told me that there a God, and that His name is Krsna. That Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is full of six opulence’s and who is the source of the entire creation. You have explained the path of Bhakti Yoga, the path of love and devotion, the path that can free us from the cycle of repeated births and deaths, and leads one back home, back to Godhead.

Often I ask myself the question “who are you Srila Prabhupada?” You have blessed the shores of this American continent with your person, having traveled so far with only a few rupee’s to your name, to fulfill the mission of your Guru Maharaja. A simple beggar sanyasi with so much to give. Who has given more to this world than you? And such priceless gifts, you brought. Your have brought light to this dark world, you brought Krsna prsasadam to feed the starving mass’s, you brought knowledge to nourish the ignorant minds and you brought kindness and compassion to a cruel and heartless land. You have given me more than anyone else ever has; a fulfilling life, and a hopeful future. Srila Prabhupada, I know who you are. You are my best friend and ever well wisher.